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THE AMERICAN- SPORTSMAN'S LIBRARY 

EDITED BY 
CASPAR WHITNEY 



RIDING AND DRIVING 



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HORSEMAN. 
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HINTS ON T: 
The Gallop-shange from Right to Left. The horse, having 

been in gallop right, has just gone into air from the right 

fore leg. The right hind leg was then planted, which will 

be followed in turn by the left hind leg, then the right fore 

leg, and lastly the left fore leg, from which the horse will 

go into air ; the change from gallop right to gallop left 

having been made without disorder or a false step. 



THE MA.' 

LONDON 



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RIDING AND DRIVING 



RIDING 



BY 

EDWARD L. ANDERSON 

AUTHOR OF " MODERN HORSEMANSHIP," " CURB, SNAFFLE, AND 
SPUR," ETC., ETC. 



DRIVING 

HINTS ON THE HISTORY, HOUSING, HARNESSING 
AND HANDLING OF THE HORSE 

BY 

PRICE COLLIER 



SSIT' 




THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 

1905 

All rights reserved 



"D 



6' 



(o 



UBRARY of .--OiSSJiCSSl 
fwo Copies rfscewwi 

APR 25 iyo5 

uu^se. Ct XXc Mot : 



Copyright, 1905. 

By the macmillan company. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published April, 1905. 



Norwood Press 

J. S. Gushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



/ ^ ^ 



CONTENTS 

RIDING 
By EDWARD L. ANDERSON 

CHAPTER ^ PAGE 

I. Breeding the Saddle-horse .... 3 
II. Handling the Young Horse .... 20 

III. The Purchase, the Care, and the Sale of 

THE Saddle-horse 30 

IV. Some Saddle-horse Stock Farms ... 47 
V. The Saddle — The Bridle — How to Mount . 54 

VI. The Seat — General Horsemanship ... 64 
VII. American Horsemanship — Our Cavalry . . 78 
VIII. How TO Ride — The Snaffle-bridle — The 
Walk and the Trot — Shying — The Cun- 
ning OF THE Horse — Sulking — Rearing — 

Defeating the Horse 85 

IX. What Training will do for a Horse — The 

Forms of Collection 103 

X. The Spur 109 

XI. Some Work on Foot — The Suppling . .112 
XII. The Curb-and-Snaffle Bridle — Guiding by 
the Rein against the Neck — Croup about 
Forehand — Upon Two Paths. . . .121 
XIII. The Gallop, and the Gallop Change — Wheel 
IN THE Gallop — Pirouette Turn — Halt in 
THE Gallop 127 

V 



9 



vi Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XIV". Backing 135 

XV. Jumping . . . . ' 138 

XVI. General Remarks 147 



DRIVING 
By price collier 



Introduction i 

I. Economic Value of the Horse . . . -159 

II. The Natural History of the Horse . . 169 

III. The Early Days of the Horse in America . 179 

IV. Points of the Horse 195 

V. The Stable 211 

VI. Feeding and Stable Management . . . 225 

VII. First Aid to the Injured 239 

VIII. Shoeing 251 

IX. Harness 259 

X. The American Horse 284 

XI. A Chapter of Little Things .... 300 

XII. Driving One Horse 315 

XIII. Driving a Pair 333 

XIV. Driving Four . 353 

XV. The Tandem 392 

XVI. Driving Tandem. By T. Suflfern Tailer . .401 

Bibliography . . . 427 

Index 429 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

RIDING 
By EDWARD L. ANDERSON 

The Gallop-change from Right to Left. The horse, having 
been in gallop right, has just gone into air from the 
right fore leg. The right hind leg was then planted, 
which will be followed in turn by the left hind leg, then 
the right fore leg, and lastly the left fore leg, from 
which the horse will go into air; the change from 
gallop right to gallop left having been made without 
disorder or a false step .... Frontispiece 

FIGURE FACING PAGE 

1. Race-horse in Training. Photograph by R. H. Cox . 5 

2. Dick Wells. Holder of the world's record for one mile. 

Photograph by R. H. Cox ...... 5 

3. Thoroughbred Mare, L'Indienne. Property of Major 

David Castleman. Photograph by the author . . 7 

4. Cayuse. Photograph by W. G. Walker .... 7 

5. Abayan Koheilan. Arab stallion, bred by Amasi Ham- 

dani, Smyri, Sheik of the District of Nagd. Property 

of Sutherland Stock Farm, Cobourg, Canada . . 7 

6. Norwegian Fiord Stallion. Imported by the author . g 

7. Mafeking, 16.2, by Temple out of a Mare by Judge Curtis. 

The property of Colin Campbell, Esq., Manor House, 
St. Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. This splendid animal 
has been hunted for three seasons with the Montreal 
Fox Hounds. He shows great power and quality, and 
is master of any riding weight ..... 9 

8. Prize-winning Charger. Property of Major Castleman. 

Photograph by the author ...... 9 



VI 11 



Illustrations 



FIGURE FACING PAGE 

9. Morgan Stallion, Meteor. Property of Mr. H. P. Crane. 

Photograph by Schreiber & Sons .... 9 

10. Mademoiselle Guerra on Rubis, a Trakhene Stallion . 10 -' 

1 1 . Highland Denmark. Property of Gay Brothers, Pisgah, 

Kentucky. The sire of more prize winners in saddle 
classes than any other stallion in America. Photo- 
graph by the author 10 

12. Brood Mare, Dorothy. Owned by General Castleman. 

This mare has a record of first prize in nearly seventy 

show rings . . . . . . . . .12' 

Cecil Palmer, American Saddle-horse, Racking. Owned 

and ridden by Major David Castleman. Photograph 

by the author 12 

The Cavesson. Photograph by the author . . .23 
The Horse goes about the Man at the Full Length of the 

Cavesson Rein. Photograph by the author . , 23 
Elevating the Head of the Horse with the Snaffle-bit. 

Photograph by M. F. A 26 

Dropping the Head and Suppling the Jaw. Photograph 

by M. F. A 26 

Bending Head with Snaffle. Photograph by M. F. A. . 28' 

A Leg Up. Photograph by M. F. A 28 

Silvana. An English half-bred mare, imported by the 

author. Photograph by M. F. A 37' 

Montgomery Chief, Champion Saddle Stallion of Amer- 
ica. Property of Ball Brothers, Versailles, Kentucky. 

Photograph by the author ...... 37 

Riding-house of the Author 44 ^ 

Garrard. Two years old. Owned and ridden by Major 

David Castleman. Photograph by the author . . 51 
Carbonel. Four years old. Owned and ridden by Major 

David Castleman. Photograph by the author . . 51 
High Lassie. Two years old. Owned by Gay Brothers, 

Pisgah, Kentucky. Photograph by the author . • 53 " 
Mares and Foals. Gay Brothers. Photograph by the 

author ......... 53 

Stirling Chief. Property of Colonel J. T. Woodford, Mt. 

Stirling, Kentucky. Photograph by the author . - SS ^ 



13 



14. 
15- 

16. 

17- 

18. 
19. 

20. 



22. 
23- 

24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 



Illustrations ix 

FIGURE FACING PAGE 

28. Stirling Chief in the Trot. Photograph by the author . 55 

29. Double Bridle Fitted. Photograph by the author . . 58 

30. Mounting with Stirrups. Photograph by M. F. A. . . 58 

31. Mounting without Stirrups. Photograph by M. F. A. . 60 

32. Mounting without Stirrups. Photograph by M. F. A. . 60 

33. Dismounting without Stirrups. Photograph by M. F. A. 60 

34. Jockey Seat. Photograph by R. H. Cox . . .62 

35. Pointing the Knees above the Crest of the Horse. Photo- 

graph by M. F. A 62 

36. Dropping the Knees to take the Seat without Stirrups. 

Photograph by M. F. A 65 

37. The Seat. Photograph by M. F. A 65 

38. Leaning Back. Photograph by M. F. A. . . . 65 

39. German Cavalry. Photograph by O. Anschutz . . 67 

40. Monsieur Leon de Gisbert. Photograph by the author . 69, 

41. Monsieur H. L. de Bussigny, Formerly an officer of the 

French Army ........ 69 

42. Chasseurs d'Afrique 71 

43. Spahis. Arabs in the Algerian army of France . . 71 

44. A French Officer. Good man and good horse . . 73 

45. French Officers 73 

46. Italian Officers. The horsemanship here exhibited is 

above criticism. Courtesy of the Goerz Co. . -73 

47. Italian Officers 73 

48. An Italian Officer. The pose of the horse proves the 

truth of the photograph y^ 

49. Trooper Royal Horse Guards. Photograph by F. G. O. 

Stuart 76 

50. Scots Grays. Tent Pegging. Photograph by F. G. O. 

Stuart 76 

51. General Castleraan 78 

52. Mr. C. Elmer Railey 80 

53. A Rider of the Plains. Photograph by W. G. Walker . 80 

54. Colonel W. F. Cody, "Buffalo Bill." Photograph by 

Stacy 83 

55. An American Horseman 83 

56. Troopers of the Fourth and the Eighth Cavalry, United 

States Army. Photograph by the author ... 85 



Illustrations 



FACING PAGE 



57- 

58. 
59- 

60. 



61. 

62. 
63- 

64. 
65. 

66. 

67. 

68. 
69. 

70. 

71- 

72. 

73- 



74- 

75- 
76. 

77- 



Captain W. C. Short. Instructor of Riding at Fort Riley. 

Photograph by the author 

Three Officers at Fort Riley. Photograph by the author 
The Small Pony is but a Toy. Photograph by Mary 

Woods 

Up to Ten or Twelve Years of Age Girls should ride in 

the Cross Saddle to learn the EiTects of the Aids 

Photograph by the author 

The Alertness of In Hand. Photograph by R. H. Cox 

In Hand in Walk. Photograph by M. F. A. . 

United Halt, between Heels and Hand. Photograph by 

M. F. A 



In Hand in Trot. Photograph by M. F. A. . 

Preventing the Horse rearing by bending the Croup to 
One Side. Photograph by M. F. A. 

Rearing with Extended Fore Legs. Photograph by 
Walker 

Major H. L. Ripley, Eighth Cavalry, United States Army 
Horse rearing with bent fore legs 

Rolling up a Restive Horse 

Closely United. Photograph by M. F. A. 

Half-halt. Photograph by M. F. A. 

The Scratch of the Spur. Photograph by M. F. A. 

Halt with the Spurs. Photograph by M. F. A. 

Direct Flexion of the Jaw. The snaffle holds the head up 
The curb-bit, with the reins drawn toward the chest 
of the horse, induces the animal to yield the jaw, when 
the tension upon the reins is released and the ani- 
mal so rewarded for its obedience. Photograph by 
M.F.A 

The Result of the Direct Flexion of the Jaw. Photograph 
by M. F. A 

Bending Head and Neck with the Curb-bit. Photograph 
by M. F. A 

Bending Head and Neck with the Curb-bit. Photograph 
by M. F. A 

Carrying the Hind Legs under the Body. Photograph by 
M. F. A 



85 
87 

90 



90 
92 
92 

94 
94 

97' 

97 

lOI ' 
lOI 

102 
102 

108 
108 



112 

115 
117 



Illustrations 



XI 



FIGURE FACING PAGE 

78. Croup about Forehand, to the Right. Photograph by 

M. F. A 117 

79. Croup about Forehand, to the Right. The left fore leg 

the pivot. The head bent toward the advancing 
croup. Photograph by M. F. A 119 

80. In Hand in Place. Photograph by H. S. , . .119 

81. The Indirect Indication of the Curb-bit. To turn the 

horse to the right by bringing the left rein against the 
neck of the horse. The rider's hand carried over to 
the right, the thumb pointing to the right shoulder . 122 

82. The Indirect Indication of the Curb-bit. To turn the 

horse to the left. The rider's hand is carried over to 
the left, the thumb pointing to the ground over the 
left shoulder of the horse ...... 122 

83. Reversed Pirouette, to the Left. The hind quarters are 

carried to the left, about the right fore leg as pivot, the 
head bent to the left . . . . . . .124 

84. Passing on Two Paths to the Right. The forehand 

slightly in advance of the croup. The head of the 
horse slightly bent in the direction of progress . . 124 

85. The Gallop. The horse in air . . . . .126 

86. The Hind Legs are committed to a Certain Stride in the 

Gallop before the Horse goes into Air . . .126 

87. Gallop Right. The change must be begun by the hind 

legs as soon as they are free from the ground. The 

last seven photographs by M. F. A 126 

88. The Wheel in the Gallop. In two paths, the hind feet 

on a small inner circle . . . . . • 131 

89. The Pirouette Wheel. The inner hind leg remains in 

place as a pivot . . . . . . . -131 

90. Backing. Taking advantage of the impulse produced by 

the whip tap to carry the mass to the rear. Photo- 
graph by M. F. A 135 

91. Backing. The same principles are observed. Photo- 

graph by M. F. A 135 



92. Jumping In Hand. Photograph by M. F. A. . 

93. Jumping In Hand. Photograph by M. F. A. . 

94. Jumping In Hand. Photograph by M. F. A. . 

95. Jumping a Narrow Hurdle. Photograph by M. F. A. 



138 
138 
138 
142 



RIDING 

By EDWARD L. ANDERSON 



RIDING 



CHAPTER I 

BREEDING THE SADDLE-HORSE 

The thoroughbred is universally recognized as 
the finest type of the horse, excelling all other 
races in beauty, in stamina, in courage, and in 
speed ; and, further, it is capable in the highest 
degree of transmitting to its posterity these valu- 
able qualities. Indeed, the greatest virtue pos- 
sessed by this noble animal lies in its power of 
producing, upon inferior breeds, horses admirably 
adapted to many useful purposes for which the 
blooded animal itself is not fitted. 

In England and upon the continent the thor- 
oughbred is held in high esteem for the saddle; 
but, as General Basil Duke justly remarks, it has 
not that agility so desirable in a riding-horse, and 
because of its low action and extended stride it is 
often wanting in sureness of foot, and in America 
we prefer to ride the half-breed with better action. 
Occasionally the thoroughbred is found that fills 
the requirements of the most exacting rider, and 
the author has had at least six blood-horses that 

3 



4 Riding 

were excellent under the saddle. One of these, 
represented by a photograph in a previous work, 
in a gallop about a lance held in the rider's hand, 
gave sufficient proof of quickness and suppleness. 
However, it is admitted on all hands that the 
horse which most nearly approaches the thor- 
oughbred, and yet possesses the necessary quali- 
ties which the superior animal lacks, will be the 
best for riding purposes. 

Although every thoroughbred traces its ances- 
try in the direct male line to the Byerly Turk, 
1690, the Darley Arabian, circa 1700, or the 
Godolphin Barb, circa 1725, and "it is impossible 
to find an English race-horse which does not 
combine the blood of all three," the experience 
of modern horsemen points to the fact that the 
blood-horse is as near to the Eastern horse as we 
should go with the stallion in breeding for the 
race-course or for ennobling baser strains. 

In view of the great influence that these three 
horses had almost immediately upon English 
breeds, this present exclusion of the Eastern 
stallion is striking ; but it means simply that the 
race-horse of our day has more admirable qualities 
to transmit than the sire of any other blood. 

The Bedouin Arabian of the Nejd district, sup- 
posed to be the purest strain of the race and the 
fountainhead of all the Eastern breeds, has become 
degenerate during the past two hundred years; 




FIG. 1. — RACE-HORSE IN TRAINING 




FIG. 2. — DICK WELLS. HOLDER OF THE RECORD FOR 
ONE MILE 



Breeding the Saddle-horse 5 

too often horses of this royal blood are found 
undersized, calf-kneed, and deficient in many- 
points. Notwithstanding the virtues that such 
animals may yet be able to transmit, I venture to 
say that the disdained " Arab " of Turkey, Persia, 
Egypt, and even that of Europe, as well as the 
so-called Barb, are better and more useful horses, 
and it is from these impure races that nearly all 
of the Eastern blood has come that has found its 
way into the crosses of European horses during 
the past hundred years or more. Indeed, if we 
may believe the statements of the partisans of the 
Eastern horse, but very little of the best Arab 
blood has been introduced into Europe. 

The Darley Arabian, the ancestor of the best 
strains in the world, was doubtless of pure desert 
blood. His color, form, and other characteristics 
have always satisfied horsemen that his lineage 
could not be questioned. 

In crosses of thoroughbred strains and desert 
blood the stallion should be of the former race ; 
but in bringing Eastern blood into inferior breeds 
the blood of the latter should be represented by 
the mare. All good crosses are apt to produce 
better riding-horses than those of a direct race. 

From the fossil remains found in various parts 
of the world it is certain that the horse appeared 
in many places during a certain geological period, 
and survived where the conditions were favorable. 



6 Riding 

But whether Western Asia is or is not the 
home of the horse, he was doubtless domesti- 
cated there in very early times, and it was from 
Syria that the Egyptians received their horses 
through their Bedouin conquerors. The horses 
of the Babylonians probably came from Persia, 
and the original source of all these may have 
been Central Asia, from which last-named region 
the animal also passed into Europe, if the horse 
were not indigenous to some of the countries in 
which history finds it. We learn that Sargon I. 
(3800 B.C.) rode in his chariot more than two 
thousand years before there is an exhibition of 
the horse in the Egyptian sculptures or proof of 
its existence in Syria, and his kingdom of Akkad 
bordered upon Persia, giving a strong presump- 
tion that the desert horse came from the last- 
named region, through Babylonian hands. It 
seems, after an examination of the representa- 
tions upon the monuments, that the Eastern 
horse has changed but little during thousands 
of years. Taking a copy of one of the sculptures 
of the palace of Ashur-bani-pal, supposed to have 
been executed about the middle of the seventh 
century before our era, and assuming that the 
bare-headed men were 5 feet 8 inches in height, 
I found that the horses would stand about 14J 
hands — very near the normal size of the desert 
horse of our day. The horses of ancient Greece 







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FIG. 3. —THOROUGHBRED BROOD-MARE 




FIG. 4. — CAYUSE 




FIG. 5. — DESERT-BRED ARAB STALLION 



Breeding the Saddle-horse 7 

must have been starvelings from some Northern 
clime, for the animals on the Parthenon frieze are 
but a trifle over 12 hands in height, and are the 
prototypes of the Norwegian Fiord pony — a 
fixed type of a very valuable small horse. 

The horse was found in Britain from the 
earliest historical times, and new blood was in- 
troduced by the Romans, by the Normans, and 
under many of the successors of William the 
Conqueror. The Turkish horse and the barb, 
it is understood, were imported long before the 
reign of James I., when Markham's Arabian, said 
to be the first of pure desert blood, was brought 
into the country; but from that time many 
horses were introduced from the East, of strains 
more or less pure. The Eastern horse was the 
foundation upon which the Englishman reared 
the thoroughbred, but we must not lose sight of 
the skill of the builder nor of the material 
furnished by native stock. The desert strains 
furnished beauty, courage, and stamina; the na- 
tive blood gave size, stride, and many other good 
qualities ; the English breeder combined all these 
and produced what no other nation has ap- 
proached, the incomparable thoroughbred. 

We accept the thoroughbred as we find him. 
No man can say exactly how he was produced. 
The great Eclipse (1764) has upward of a 
dozen mares in his short pedigree (he was fourth 



8 Riding 

in descent from the Darley Arabian) whose 
breeding is unknown and which were doubtless 
native mares, for already the descendants of 
Eastern horses were known and noted. What 
is true of the breeding of Eclipse is true of many 
of his contemporaries who played prominent parts 
in the studs of their day. 

For more than one hundred years no desert- 
bred stallion has had any marked influence upon 
the race-horse directly through a thoroughbred 
mare. In the first decade of the last century a 
barb stallion bred to a barb mare produced 
Sultana, who brought forth the granddam of 
Berthune to Sir Archy. Berthune was much 
sought after as a sire for riding-horses ; besides 
this barb blood he had strains of Diomed and of 
Saltram in his veins, all of which were desirable 
for saddle-horses. 

Breeds of animals deteriorate rapidly through 
lack of nourishment and from in-and-in breeding. 
It is questionable whether a degenerate race may 
be restored, within measurable time, by the use 
of any appreciable amount of its own blood ; 
it is certainly bad policy to found a breed upon 
poor stock. The better plan would be to form 
the desired type from new strains. One hundred 
years ago Lewis and Clark found upon the plains 
of the Northwest "horses of an excellent race, 
lofty, elegantly formed, and durable," but one 




FIG. 6. — NORWEGIAN FIORD STALLION 




FIG. 7. — HEAVY-WEIGHT HUNTER 




FIG. 8. —CHARGER 







FIG. 9. — MORGAN STALLION 



Breeding the Saddle-horse 9 

could hardly hope to replace such animals from 
the cayuse ponies, their descendants, without the 
introduction of superior blood in such quantities 
as practically to obliterate the inferior. 

Some of the range horses of Washington and 
of Oregon are fairly good animals, and these 
have more or less of the bronco blood, but all 
that can be said of the influence of the wild horse 
is that its descendants can " rustle " for a living 
where an Eastern horse would starve, and the 
same thing can be said of the donkey. Admit- 
ting that for certain purposes inferior blood must 
sometimes be introduced for domestic purposes, 
the better the breeding the better the horse will 
be. Bon sang don chien. 

The mustang of the southern central plains 
maintains many of the good qualities of its 
Spanish ancestors, and is a valuable horse for 
certain purposes, but we need not consider this 
animal in breeding for the saddle when we have 
so many other strains infinitely superior. Polo 
and cow ponies are not within our intent. 

Types and families of horses are produced either 
by careful " selection and exclusion," or by the 
chances of environment. In the first manner 
was brought about the thoroughbred, the Per- 
cheron, the Orloff, the Trakhene, the Denmark, 
and every other race or family of real value. 

All over the world isolated groups of horses 



lo Riding 

may be found which have become types by an 
accidental seclusion, and these from various 
causes are usually undersized and often ill-formed. 
Such are the mustang and its cousins on the 
plains, many breeds in Eastern Asia, the Nor- 
wegian Fiord pony, the Icelander, the Shetlander, 
etc., the last-named three being, it is supposed, 
degenerates of pure desert descent from animals 
taken north from Constantinople by the returned 
Varangians in the eleventh century. 

In breeding for the saddle, or for any other 
purpose, the mare should be nearly of the type 
the breeder desires to obtain, and she should be of 
strong frame, perfectly sound, of healthy stock, 
and with a good disposition. If her pedigree be 
known, the stallion, well-bred or thoroughbred, 
should be selected from a strain which has been 
proved to have an affinity with that of the mare. 
The mingling of certain strains is almost as cer- 
tain to produce certain results — not, be it under- 
stood, everything that may be desired — as does 
the mixing of chosen colors on the palette. That 
is to say, size, form, action, and disposition may 
ordinarily be foretold by the mating between 
families that are known to nick. The stallion 
should be no larger than the mare, of a family in 
which there is no suspicion of transmissible dis- 
ease, and of good temper, and it certainly should 
not be lacking in the slightest degree in any pcant 




FIG. 10. — TRAKHENE STALLION 




FIG. 11. — TYPICAL DENMARK STALLION 



Breeding the Saddle- borse n 

where the mare is not fully developed. The mare 
might be the stronger animal, the stallion the 
more highly finished. 

Where the mare's pedigree is unknown, and 
the matter is purely an experiment, or where she 
is undoubtedly of base breeding, the stallion, 
while of superior blood, should not vary greatly 
from her type. Peculiarities in either parent are 
almost certain to be found in an exaggerated form 
in the foal. 

It would be difficult to imagine a better horse, 
for any conceivable purpose except racing, than a 
first-rate heavy-weight hunter ; yet he may be called 
an accident, as there is no such breed, and his 
full brother may be relegated to the coach or even 
to the plough. The large head and convex face 
almost invariably found in the weight carrier, and 
in the " high-jumper," are derived from the coarse 
blood which gives them size and power ; but these 
features are indications of that courage and reso- 
lution which give them value — characteristics 
which in animals of wholly cold blood are usually 
exhibited in obstinacy. Indeed, while the English 
horse, each in its class, has no superior, Great 
Britain has no type or family of saddle animals 
such as our Denmark, unless one except cobs and 
ponies. 

Of course, where two animals of the same or of 
similar strains, and bearing a close resemblance to 



12 Riding 

each other, are mated, the type will be reproduced 
with much greater certainty than where various 
strains are for the first time brought together; 
but even in good matches a foal may show some 
undesirable feature derived from a remote an- 
cestor. Some marks or characteristics of a pro- 
genitor reappear at almost incredible distances 
from their sources. That Boston's progeny 
should be subject to blindness, or that Cruiser's 
descendants should be vicious, or that the off- 
spring of whistlers should prove defective in their 
wind, are reasonable expectations ; but that the 
black spots on the haunches of Eclipse should be 
repeated upon his descendants of our day, as is 
doubtless the case, exhibits an influence that is 
marvellous. Stockwell (1849) and many others 
of Eclipse's descendants had those ancestral 
marks, but Stockwell had many strains of Eclipse 
blood through Waxy, Gohanna, and other pro- 
genitors. When a chestnut thoroughbred shows 
white hairs through its coat, that peculiarity 
is ascribed to Venison (1833) blood, if by 
chance that stallion's name may be found in its 
pedigree. 

Where undesirable qualities appear in the 
products of crosses in breeding for a type, they 
are bred out in breeding up, or the failures are 
permitted to die out. It is not probable that any 
one who was desirous of breeding a horse suitable 







FIG. 12. — BROOD-MARE OF SADDLE STRAINS 




FIG. 13. —CECIL PALMER RACKING 



Breeding the Saddle-horse 13 

for the saddle would select a very inferior mare, 
for, even though her pedigree were unknown, 
the qualities which suggested her selection would 
prove her something better. It cannot be denied 
that occasionally a literal half-breed, by a thorough- 
bred on common stock, turns out a good animal, 
and such a cross is often the foundation of valu- 
able types; but the chances are too remote to 
induce one to try the experiment solely for 
the produce of the first cross. It is rarely the 
case that a horse may be found in a gentleman's 
stable that has not either a liberal, direct infusion 
of thoroughbred strains, or is not itself a repre- 
sentative of some family which owes its distinc- 
tion to the blood-horse. 

I am schooling a pretty little mare, picked up 
by chance, for the illustrations of the chapters 
on riding and training. I believe that Daphne 
is out of a Morgan mare by a Hambletonian 
stallion, and that her symmetry comes from the 
dam. It is greatly to be regretted that the so- 
called Morgans have been so neglected that it is 
not easy to find horses with enough of the blood 
to entitle them to bear the family name. The 
Morgan, although rather a small horse, was an 
admirable animal, good in build, in constitution, 
in action, and in temperament, and its blood com- 
bined well with that of the old Canadian pacing 
stock (of which the original Copperbottom was 



14 Riding 

an example), with Messenger strains, and with 
those of some other trotting famiUes. 

At the Trakhene stud in Germany a distinct 
breed has been obtained by the admixture of 
thoroughbred and Eastern blood. How long it 
took and how many crosses were made to estab- 
lish the type I cannot say, but it is understood 
that in the first crosses the stallions were of 
English blood, the mares of desert strains. These 
Trakhene horses, usually black or chestnut, are 
very beautiful animals — large, symmetrical, and 
of proud bearing. They are sometimes used as 
chargers by the German emperor and his officers, 
and in this country they are somewhat familiar as 
liberty horses in the circus ring. It is said that 
the Trakhene is not clever upon his feet and that 
he is not safe in easy paces, which is likely 
enough, for both the blood-horse and the Arab 
are stumblers in the walk and in the trot. 

In the province of Ontario, Canada, and in the 
states of Maine and New York, very fine horses 
are bred for various purposes; and from among 
these are found good hacks and the animals best 
suited to the hunting-field that America affords. 
These Northern horses have good constitutions 
and, it is thought, better feet than those found 
beyond the Alleghanies, and the best examples 
fill the demands of the most critical horseman; 
but in none of the Northern states can it be said 



Breeding the Saddle-horse 15 

that a breed or family exists that produces a type 
of hack or hunter, while in the Blue Grass region 
south of the Ohio we find the Denmarks splen- 
didly developed in every point and with a natural 
grace and elasticity that make them most desir- 
able for the saddle. 

For quite a century the riding-horses of Ken- 
tucky have been celebrated in song and story. 
In the days when bridle-paths were the chief 
means of intercommunication throughout this 
state, the pioneer made his journeys as easy as 
possible by selecting and by breeding saddle- 
horses with smooth gaits, the rack and the run- 
ning walk. These movements had been known 
in the far East and in Latin countries from time 
immemorial, but it remained for the Kentuckian 
to perfect them. 

Some fifty odd years since a stallion called 
Denmark was introduced into Kentucky, and 
from him there has descended a type of saddle- 
horse which is everywhere held in esteem, for the 
Denmark horse of to-day has no superior for 
beauty of form, for docility, for graceful move- 
ments and, indeed, for every good quality which 
should be found in a riding animal. Denmark 
had been successful on the race-course ; he was by 
imported Hedgeford, and if it be true that there 
was a stain upon the lineage of his dam, there 
had been a very successful cross, for the great 



1 6 Riding 

majority of the saddle-horses of Kentucky boast 
Denmark as an ancestor. More than nine-tenths 
of this family trace to the founder's son, Gaines's 
Denmark, whose dam was by Cockspur, and, 
probably, out of a pacing mare. 

The American Saddle-horse Breeders' Associa- 
tion has undertaken to improve the riding-horses 
of this country by the formation of a register and 
by the selection of foundation stallions whose 
progeny under certain conditions shall be eligible 
for registry. Their primary object is to encour- 
age the breeding of the gaited saddle-horse, that 
is, the animal which, from inherited instincts or 
natural adaptability, may readily be taught to 
rack, to pace, to go in the running walk and in 
the fox-trot ; but at the same time General Castle- 
man, Colonel Nail, and the other gentlemen 
engaged with them, are exercising great influence 
for good upon the horse of the three simpler 
gaits. 

The pedigrees of the foundation sires of this 
register show many strains of the blood of Sal- 
tram and of Diomed, a fair share of that of the 
Canadian pacer, and enough, doubtless, of that of 
the Morgan. A fabric woven of such threads 
must prove of national importance ; for, although 
the registry is open to all horses which can show 
five saddle-gaits, it should be remembered that 
such an exhibition is almost a certain proof of the 



Breeding the Saddle-horse 17 

desired breeding and is a certain proof of quality. 
We may, then, hope for a typical American saddle- 
horse, — a race that shall have no superior, repre- 
sentatives of which shall be found wherever the 
horse flourishes. 

I am no advocate for any paces other than the 
walk, the trot, and the gallop, these being the only 
movements in which the rider can obtain imme- 
diate and precise control over the actions of the 
horse. The riding-horse must be managed by 
reins and heels ; no motions or signs are so exact- 
ing, so unmistakable in their demands, and it is 
impossible readily to obtain movements from a 
horse that is confused by eight or even five gaits, 
particularly when some of these gaits require an 
extension of the animal's forces incompatible with 
the union required in quick turns and in imme- 
diate obedience. It must, however, be acknowl- 
edged that the rack, the running walk, and the 
fox-trot have had a beneficial influence upon the 
Kentucky saddle-horse. In the first place, these 
paces required selection in the breeding, and, 
secondly, the discipline implied by the training, 
through many generations, has had its effect upon 
the tempers and dispositions of these splendid 
animals. 

A brood mare should always be well nourished, 
but not over fed, and, from the time it is able to 
eat, the foal should have its share of oats as well 



1 8 Riding 

as of succulent, nutritious grasses, and of sound 
hay when grazing is impracticable. Our cavalry 
officers, and horsemen in general, bear testimony 
to the endurance of animals bred in Kentucky. 
This vigor is due to the rich blue-grass pastures 
and to the liberal feeding of the mare and her 
offspring. 

It would appear, upon first viewing the subject, 
that a horse bred upon rough pasture-land would 
be more sure of foot than one bred on smooth 
plains ; but that is not always the case. It is true 
that the animal bred on uneven ground learns to 
look after itself, and becomes very clever on its 
feet when obstacles exist, but mountain-bred 
horses are often stumblers on level roads, in the 
walk and in the trot. The fact is, that sureness 
of foot depends upon the manner in which the 
horse extends and plants its feet, moderate action 
being the safest, either extremes of high or low 
action, of short or long strides, militating against 
the animal's agility. The reason that horses 
stumble ten times in the walk to once in the 
trot is because in the first-named pace the pointed 
toe is usually carried along close to the ground 
before the fore foot is planted. When the rider 
unites the horse, this defective action is obviated. 
During the past twenty years I have taken thou- 
sands of photographs of the moving horse in 
studying the question of action, and I am satisfied 



Breeding the Saddle-horse 19 

that the horse which plants its fore foot with the 
■front of the hoof vertical will stumble ; that the 
horse which straightens its joints and brings 
the heel to the ground first will travel insecurely 
and slip on greasy surfaces. I had an example of 
the last-named in my stable, and the animal sev- 
eral times " turned turtle," as I might have antici- 
pated. Fair action, with fairly bent joints which 
bring the feet about flat to the ground, the hind 
legs well under the mass, is the safest form in 
which the horse moves. 



CHAPTER II 

HANDLING THE YOUNG HORSE 

Before the horse can be taught obedience to 
the bit and spur it must go through a preliminary 
course of handUng, by which the man obtains 
mastery over the animal. This work is usually 
called " breaking-in," and it is a matter of regret 
that it is almost always conducted in an unneces- 
sarily harsh and rough manner, with the result 
that many horses are made vicious, or are in 
other ways spoiled, through the ignorance and 
cruelty of those who have charge of their early 
education. 

A lively colt is shy, suspicious, and curious, 
easily amused, and as easily bored ; by recogniz- 
ing these characteristics and conducting his work 
with reference to them, the trainer will find suc- 
cess easy and agreeable. After the man has 
gained the confidence of the animal, he will find 
that the young horse takes great interest in les- 
sons that are varied and not too long continued, 
and there need be no resistances aroused on the 
part of the pupil. Except in the very rare cases 
of animals that are naturally vicious, and such 



Handling the Young Horse 21 

are insane, the training of a horse may be carried 
on without friction. The faults and vices in a 
horse usually arise from the efforts of the ner- 
vous animal to avoid injudicious restraints before 
it has been taught by easy steps to yield instinc- 
tively to the demands of its trainer. Later mis- 
conduct is almost always due to want of firmness 
and decisive action on the part of the rider. The 
horse is incapable of that real affection for man 
such as the dog evinces toward the worst of mas- 
ters; it is of low intelligence, the boldest of them 
being subject to panics, but there are few which 
lack a low craft that enables them to take advan- 
tage of every slip or mistake the man may make. 
A sufHcient amount of work and careful treatment 
will keep a sane horse steady, but when at all 
fresh most horses are untrustworthy if the man's 
control be lost. I do not find it necessary to 
punish my horses ; the whip, spur, and reins are 
employed to convey demands ; a harsh word an- 
swers every requirement for correction, and the 
animal cannot resent it as it may the blows of 
the whip or the stroke of the spur. The photo- 
graphs of a number of these animals in my vari- 
ous works in almost every possible movement 
prove how exact is the obedience they render 
under this course of treatment. When some old 
favorite refuses to walk into a coal-pit, or volun- 
tarily turns up some well-known road, the fond 



22 Riding 

owner is too apt to confuse instinct or habit with 
brilliant mental operations, and place too -much 
faith in its good inclinations ; but the fact is that 
in handling this animal we must neglect its will 
and obtain control over its movement by cultivat- 
ing the instinctive muscular actions which follow 
the application of the hand and heel. I have a 
great admiration for the horse, for its beauty, for 
its usefulness, for its many excellent qualities, but 
I do not permit this sentiment to blind me to its 
shortcomings. Some horses are so good that 
they inspire an affection which they cannot re- 
ciprocate. Since I began this book I lost Silvana, 
a well-bred English mare which I had owned for 
eighteen years. She was a very beautiful animal, 
of high spirit, exact in all the movements of the 
manege, and of so kind a disposition that she was 
never guilty of mutinous or disorderly conduct. 

Regardless of the treatment it has received 
previously, the young horse should be "broken 
to ride," when strong enough to bear the weight 
of a rider, by some method similar to that which 
follows. 

But first I wish to say a word about casting 
the horse, by what is usually called " The Rarey 
System." Many people believe that to throw the 
horse is a sure cure for every vice and spirit of 
resistance. The fact is that a horse is confused, 
surprised, and humiliated at finding itself helpless, 




FIG. 14. —THE CAVESSON 




FIG. 15. — LONGEING ON THE CAVESSON 



! 



Handling the Young Horse 23 

and casting does give the man temporary control 
which is often a most important matter, and may- 
be the beginning of the estabHshment of disci- 
pHne ; but mastering the horse permanently can- 
not be accomplished in a moment, and unless it 
be necessary to employ the straps in the handling 
of a violent animal I should advise against it. 
Vices, faults, and tricks may be remedied only 
by careful training. I teach many of my horses 
to lie down, but, as I shall explain later, I do not 
employ any straps or apparatus. 

The first step in breaking-in is to give some 
lessons on the cavesson. This is a head-collar 
with a metal nose-band, upon the front and each 
side of which are stout rings. To the front ring a 
leather longe line fifteen feet long will be fastened, 
and from the side rings straps will be buckled to 
the girth or surcingle at such lengths as will pre- 
vent the horse extending its nose so that the face 
is much beyond the perpendicular. The horse 
thus fitted should be led to some retired spot 
where there is level ground enough for a circle 
of about forty feet. At first the man, walking at 
the shoulder of the horse, should lead it on the 
circumference of the circle, to the right and to 
the left, taking a short hold of the longe line and 
being careful that the animal does not get so far 
ahead of him as to have a straight pull forward 
which may drag him from his feet. From time 



24 Riding 

to time the man will bring the horse to a halt, 
and require it to stand quite still, making much 
of it by caresses and kind words, picking up the 
feet and stroking it gently with the whiphandle 
all over its body and legs, so that it will not be 
alarmed at his future motions, and then continu- 
ing the progress on the circle. Gradually the 
length of the hold on the longe line will be 
increased, until the horse goes about the man 
at the full length of the strap. In these exercises, 
also, the horse should frequently be brought to a 
stop, always on the circumference of the circle, 
and it should be worked equally to either hand. 
The lessons should be given twice every day, at 
first for about fifteen minutes each, and increasing 
the time until a lesson shall be of three-quarters 
of an hour's duration. Colored rugs, wheelbar- 
rows, open umbrellas, paper, and other similar 
objects at which a horse might shy should be 
placed near the path until the horse is so accus- 
tomed to them that it will take no notice. Under 
no circumstances should the horse be punished, 
and the man should exercise great care that he 
does nothing to make the animal fear him. When 
the horse will go quietly about the man in the 
walk and in the very slow trot (it should never be 
permitted to go rapidly), the surcingle may be re- 
placed by the saddle, lightly girthed and the stir- 
rups looped up, the side-lines of the cavesson being 



Handling the Young Horse 25 

removed. Then, at the end of each lesson on the 
cavesson, that instrument should be replaced by a 
light snaffle-bridle. The man, facing the head of 
the horse, should take a snaffle-rein in each hand 
and make gentle vibrations toward its chest, so that 
he will give the bit a light feeling on the bars of 
the mouth. Occasionally he will elevate the head 
of the horse by extending his arms upward to 
their full length, then gently bring the head of 
the horse to a natural height, or to that height 
which he judges will be the best in which the 
trained horse should carry it, drawing the reins 
toward the animal's chest until its face is per- 
pendicular, and no farther, and playing with the 
bit in light vibrations until the horse takes up 
the play and gives a supple jaw. He will also 
bend the head of the horse to the right and to 
the left, the face vertical, and bring it back to the 
proper position by the reins, not accepting any 
voluntary movement from the horse, and endeavor- 
ing to obtain always an elastic resistance from its 
mouth. The head of the horse will also be de- 
pressed by the snaffle-reins, until it nearly touches 
the ground, and then be lifted to the natural height. 
All of these movements are of high importance, 
and all of them tend to develop the muscles of 
the neck and chest ; but the elevation of the head 
and its return to the right height, face vertical, 
jaw supple, but not flaccid, produces the best 



26 Riding 

results in bitting and should be more frequently 
practised than the others. If, in these lessons, 
the horse draws back, it must be made to come 
to the man ; no good results can be obtained from 
a retreating animal. 

Upon some occasion, after the longeing and bit- 
ting lesson has been given, when there is no high 
wind to irritate the horse and the animal seems 
to be composed, the man should have " a leg up " 
and quietly drop into the saddle, having first 
taken a lock of mane in his left hand and with 
the right, in which the reins should be, grasping 
the pommel, thumb under the throat of the pom- 
mel. He should then let the horse walk off for a 
few steps, having a very slight tension upon the 
reins, and quietly dismount. If, as is very un- 
likely, for the horse will be taken by surprise, 
though not frightened, the animal makes a jump 
or a plunge, the rider must maintain his seat, 
keep up the head of the horse, and dismount 
when the animal has become quiet. The horse 
will not rear at this stage ; that is an accomplish- 
ment it learns from bad hands, and it is probable 
that it will be perfectly quiet. Each day the rid- 
ing lesson will be lengthened, and the rider will 
gradually obtain some control over its movements 
by the reins and accustom it to bear the pressure 
of his legs against its sides. The longeing will 
now be employed to give such exercise as is 





r 


1 


-a 


1^- 

.1 


l« 


1 


1 


^ 


.^- 




1 


— 


- 



FIG. 16. — ELEVATION OF THE HEAD WITH SNAFFLE 





^HHHB^ 




TJI^BBwyi^ ■« 






^^H-m ^^^^H 



FIG. 17. —DROPPING HEAD AND SUPPLING JAW 



Handling the Young Horse 27 

needed to keep the animal from being too fresh ; 
and when the riding lessons give sufificient work, 
the longe may be dispensed with, to be resumed 
if the horse falls into bad habits. But the bitting 
exercises, previously described, should be occa- 
sionally reverted to as long as the horse is used 
under the saddle. 

But one more thing is necessary before the 
horse is ready for the higher training which will 
be described later, and this desideratum is to con- 
firm the horse in the habit of facing the bit, that 
is, to go forward against a light tension upon the 
reins ; for without this the rider will have little or 
no government over its movements, as the bit must 
have some resistance, slight though it should be, 
upon which to enforce his demands. Whenever 
a rider finds that his hand has nothing to work 
against, that the horse has loosened its hold on 
the bit and refuses to face it, he may be almost 
certain that he has an old offender to manage 
and that mischief is meant, and will follow unless 
he can force the horse up into the bridle. 

The horse may best be taught to face the bit 
in a slow but brisk trot. The animal must not 
be started off too abruptly, but the forward move- 
ment should begin in a walk ; and this is a rule 
that should always be followed, even though it be 
for a few steps, unless some good reason for doing 
otherwise exists. The impulse for the trot and 



28 Riding 

its continuance may be induced by a pressure of 
the rider's legs against the sides of the horse, 
or by light taps of the whip delivered just back 
of the girths. 

In a measured, regular trot the horse should be 
ridden in straight lines, and in circles, first of 
large, and afterward of decreased, diameters, the 
pace being maintained by demanding impulses 
from the hind quarters, the hand taking a light 
but steady tension upon the reins. No effort 
will be made to induce the horse to pull against 
the hand, but the man should endeavor to get 
just that resistance by which he may direct the 
animal. It does not really matter if the jaw 
of the horse does get a little rigid; that can be 
softened by the bitting exercises and by future 
lessons, but the horse must go into the bridle. 
In turning to either hand the inside rein will 
direct the movement, the outer rein measuring 
and controlling the effect of the other; the out- 
side leg of the rider will make an increased press- 
ure as the turn is being made to keep the croup 
of the horse on the path taken by the forehand. 
On approaching the turn the horse will be slightly 
collected between hand and heel, and as soon as 
the horse enters upon the new direction it will be 
put straight and the aids will act as before. To 
bring it to a halt, the legs of the rider will close 
against the sides of the horse ; he will then lean 




FIG. 18. — BENDING HEAD WITH SNAFFLE 




FIG. 19. — A LEG UP 



Handling the Young Horse 29 

back slightly and raise his hand until the horse 
comes to a walk, and in the same manner he will 
bring it to a stop. The hand will then release 
the tension upon the reins and the legs be with- 
drawn from the sides of the horse. To go for- 
ward, the rider will first close his legs against 
the sides of the horse and meet the impulses so 
procured by such a tension upon the reins as will 
induce the horse to go forward in a walk. So, to 
demand the trot, the increased impulses will first 
be demanded from the croup, to be met and meas- 
ured by the hand. It is an invariable rule, at this 
stage and in every stage, that in going forward, 
backward, or to either side, the rider's legs will 
act before the hand to procure the desired im- 
pulses. 



CHAPTER III 

THE PURCHASE, THE CARE, AND THE SALE OF THE 
SADDLE-HORSE 

Whether it has been procured by rapine, pur- 
chase, gift, or devise, the owner of a really good 
saddle-horse has something from which he may 
derive much pleasure and satisfaction. Nor is 
such an animal so rare as the late Edmund Tat- 
tersall suggested, when he gave it as his opinion 
that a man might have one good horse in his life- 
time, but certainly no more. Almost any horse 
of good temper, safe action, and sufficient strength 
may be made pleasant to ride. Alidor was a 
small cart-horse, low at the shoulder, with a rigid 
jaw and a coarse head, but he became a charming 
hack, and I employed him for the photographs of 
the first edition of " Modern Horsemanship." I 
bought him as a three-year-old, as an experiment ; 
and when he was four the breeder came to see him 
and gave me a written statement that, so great 
were the changes made in appearance and action 
by the calisthenics of his education, the animal 
could hardly be recognized. 

Of course a man on the lookout for a horse 

30 



Purchase, Care, and Sale 31 

will make an offer for a desirable animal wherever 
it may be found, but the most satisfactory mode 
of procedure is to go to some reputable dealer. 
I have bought horses from dealers in many parts 
of this country and in England, France, Germany, 
and other parts of Europe, and I have found them 
desirous of pleasing and as honest as their neigh- 
bors. I once bought a little horse from a trader 
in Frankfort-on-the-Main, who told me that I was 
getting a good bargain, and that in case I ever 
wished to dispose of it he would like to have a 
refusal. When I was ready to sell, I sent word to 
the dealer that a friend had offered me a fair ad- 
vance over the price I had paid, and to my sur- 
prise he appeared and without remonstrance gave 
me the amount my friend had named. I need 
hardly say the horse was a good one, so I had 
been well treated all round. 

Much of the friction between purchaser and 
dealer is usually due to the manner in which the 
former conducts his part of the bargain. It is 
not agreeable to a fair-minded man to be ap- 
proached as though he were a swindler, to be 
offered one-half of the price he has set on his 
property, and then perhaps to have a sound horse 
returned because the buyer did not know what he 
wanted. I do not wish to be understood as say- 
ing that all dealers are honest; I have seen too 
many who would not go straight ; but it is reason- 



32 Riding 

able to suppose that most men in a large way of 
business, who have reputations for honest dealings 
to maintain, will " do right " by a customer. 

It is a mistake for an ignorant purchaser to 
take a knowing friend with him for protection ; 
this will, in the eyes of the dealer, relieve him in 
a great measure of responsibility. If the friend 
is really a good judge, it is far better to let him 
act alone, when he will be considered a client and 
not an interloper trying to " crab " a sale, and there- 
fore free to deceive himself and his companion. 

Some dealers will not give a warranty of 
soundness, and a warranty is too often the cause 
of disputes and of actions at law to make it 
advisable either to give or to demand one. A 
veterinary examination and a short trial must 
suffice. Sometimes the seller requires that the 
trial shall take place from his yards, to avoid the 
risk of injury to valuable animals and that black- 
mail so commonly levied by head grooms and 
stable-men. In cases where the dealer objected 
to sending his horse to another's stables, the 
author has been in the habit of offering a fair 
sum of money for the privilege, the amount to go 
on the price of the horse should the sale be 
effected ; and this proposal has usually been 
acceptable. 

Where a trial has been allowed, or even where 
the purchase has been made, if an indifferent 



Purchase, Care, and Sale 33 

horseman, recognizing his deficiencies, wishes to 
assure himself of the wisdom of the step he is tak- 
ing, let him place a cold saddle upon the horse 
when it is fresh, and immediately mount and go 
upon the road. 

If the animal does not buck or shy, and goes 
fairly well, albeit a little gay, it is a prize not to 
be disdained. Many horses, even with stall cour- 
age, will go quietly if the saddle be warmed by 
half an hour's contact with their backs, but will 
plunge or buck if the rider mounts a saddle 
freshly girthed. If a fresh horse will stand the 
ordeal of a cold panel, it will not be apt to mis- 
behave under other trials. 

Of course the confident rider will make his 
essay as soon as the horse comes into his posses- 
sion, and if the new purchase does not come up 
to his expectations, he will hope that his skill 
may remedy the faults he discovers. 

To go to the breeder implies a journey, to find 
often only young horses that are not thoroughly 
trained and almost always unused to the sights 
and sounds of traffic, many of which are fearsome 
to a country-bred horse. On the other hand, on 
such a visit, the prospective purchaser has a bet- 
ter opportunity of examining the animals offered 
for sale, and from a knowledge of the pedigrees 
and an examination of the progenitors he will be 
able to form some idea of what may be expected 



36 Riding 

are set far apart, and by their motions express 
the moods of the vivacious animal. The legs, 
well muscled above, clean and hard below the 
knees, are truly placed under the mass, the 
drivers capable of propelling the weight of horse 
and man with vigor, — the fore legs giving no 
suggestion that the body is leaning forward, the 
hind legs having no appearance of buttressing up 
the body. The crest is marked, but not too 
strongly, and the muscles below it play like 
shadows as the animal proudly arches its taper- 
ing neck, which buries itself in broadly divergent 
jaws. The shoulder slopes rearward in such a 
manner as to make the back seem shorter than 
it really is, while the gentle dip of the saddle- 
place invites one to mount. Its ability to speed 
under weight is evidenced by a deep, broad chest, 
its muscular thighs, its well-covered limbs, and 
the strong spine which ends in a dock fairly 
carried from a nearly level croup. The hoofs 
are of exactly the right size, the slope conforming 
to that of the springy pasterns, pointing straight 
forward, and with level bearings. Its paces should 
be smooth, even, and regular, four rhythmic beats 
in the walk, three in the controlled gallop, two 
in the trot, while the action should only be 
high enough for safe and graceful movements, 
the stride not long enough to affect the animal's 
agility. The temper should " be bold, be bold 



Purchase, Care, and Sale 2>1 

but not too bold," unaccustomed objects arousing 
the horse's curiosity rather than its fears, while 
this mettle is dominated by the rider's hand as 
it ever finds just that tension upon the reins that 
it would meet in bending the end of a willow 
branch. 

While skill in horsemanship and the posses- 
sion of a good horse are to be highly considered, 
all the pleasures of riding are not confined to 
the expert with his splendid mount. Many men 
who are never able to attain even tolerable pro- 
ficiency in the art get a great amount of recreation 
and satisfaction in the exercise. The author has 
a friend who, late in life, and when his figure had 
developed beyond the stage where a secure seat 
might be practicable, was accustomed to place 
himself on the back of a quiet pacing-mare, in 
one of those saddles with a towering horn on the 
pommel and a fair-sized parapet on the cantle. 
Thus equipped, he passed many happy hours in 
going wherever the steady but headstrong Belle 
was inclined. When the mare brought forth 
some three-cornered progeny from registered 
sires, her owner's delight was unbounded, for 
he was then a breeder as well as a horseman. 

No estimate can be made of the real value of 
a riding-horse, or what a horse for a specific pur- 
pose should cost ; these depend on the man and 
the horse. A really satisfactory, confidential 



38 Riding 

animal is worth whatever the man feels that he 
is able to pay, " even to half his realm." A horse 
that costs no more than a hundred dollars at four 
or five years old may be made by care and train- 
ing of great intrinsic value ; while other animals, 
whose beauty and striking action have sold them 
for thousands of dollars, may be dear at any 
price. A good horse should bring a fair price, 
but the purchaser should be certain that he is 
paying for the horse, and not for the privilege of 
seeing it well ridden by an expert. Except where 
horses are bred in such numbers that the cost of 
the keep of each is much reduced, there will be 
very little change coming to the breeder out of 
the few hundred dollars that he gets for a four- 
year-old of some quality. The exceptional colt 
which brings an exceptional price puts up the 
average of profit, but it is to the dealer that the 
long price usually goes. 

When one sees the wretched cabins, called 
boxes, hot in summer, draughty in winter, in 
which horses are kept on many of the breeding 
farms, and even on some of the race-courses, it 
is a matter of wonder that health and condition 
of the stock can be maintained under such cir- 
cumstances. Exposure to the inclemency of the 
weather, however, is better than the pampering 
which city horses usually find in close and over- 
heated stables. 



Purchase, Care, and Sale 39 

The stable should be reasonably warm in win- 
ter and as cool in summer as may be, thoroughly 
ventilated, without draughts, and with good drain- 
age. The light should be admitted from the rear 
of the stalls ; certainly a horse should not stand 
facing a near window on a level with its head. 
A gangway should be in the front of the stalls as 
well as in the rear, and the horse should be fed 
through an opening about sixteen inches wide in 
the front of the stall. This narrow opening will 
be beneficial to the sight of the horse, and the 
animal cannot fight its neighbors. For more 
than half a century the home stable of the author 
has had such an arrangement, which proved per- 
fectly satisfactory. In that stable there were two 
rows of stalls facing a middle gangway. 

Except for sick or weary horses, the stall is 
better than the loose box ; in the former, stable dis- 
cipline is better kept up. In a loose box an idle 
horse is apt to become too playful, and horse-play 
too often degenerates into something worse, such 
as biting and kicking. 

The floor of the stable should be of hard bricks, 
or of some combination of asphalt. The drainage 
should be to the rear of the stalls, with a very 
slight slope. If the drains are made under the 
horse, the slopes are multiplied and the inclines 
are greater than in the length of the stalls. Al- 
ways the horse should have an abundance of dry 



40 Riding 

straw, and for the night this should be renewed 
or rearranged, so that the animal shall have a soft, 
dry bed. The food should be varied, the quan- 
tity depending upon the size of the horse, the 
work demanded of it, and its appetite and diges- 
tion. For a horse 15J hands high, the size in 
which agility and sufficient strength are usually 
found, ten to twelve pounds of oats and the 
same quantity of hay should be given daily 
in three portions, when in hard work. When 
the horse is merely exercised, four or five 
pounds of oats and six pounds of hay will be 
sufficient. When it is found that a horse does 
not clean out its manger, the feed should be re- 
duced. In addition to the oats and hay, the 
horse should have a few carrots two or three 
times a week, occasionally an apple, and a steamed 
mash of bran and crushed oats about once a week, 
as an aperient, given preferably on the eve of 
some day of rest. During the spring and sum- 
mer the animal should have a handful of fresh 
grass, not clover, every day ; but not more than 
a good handful, for a larger quantity might bring 
on some intestinal trouble, whereas the titbit 
is greatly appreciated and is highly beneficial. 
These dainties will be received with a good grace 
from the master and will encourage friendly re- 
lations between horse and man. Salt should be 
given in very small quantities two or three times 



Purchase, Care, and Sale 41 

a week, and the horse should have a frequent 
supply of pure, unchilled water, given some time 
before meals; if it is offered four or five times a 
day, it will not be too often. 

The horse should be out of the stable, except 
in very inclement weather, for at least two hours 
every day ; eight hours of slow work, with a halt 
for rest and refreshment after the first three hours, 
is not too much for a horse in good condition. 

During the Civil War, General John Morgan, 
after two weeks of severe campaigning, marched 
his cavalry command, without dismounting, a 
distance of ninety-four miles in about thirty-five 
hours. Many of the horses of Kentucky breeding 
performed this work without flinching, and were 
called upon to do further duty without respite. 
Notwithstanding the vigor with which General 
Morgan conducted this raid into Ohio, he was 
overtaken by General Hobson after twenty-one 
days of hard marching, in which a distance of 
about seven hundred and fifty miles was covered. 
On a previous occasion General Morgan marched 
his cavalry ninety miles in about twenty-five 
hours. Under somewhat similar circumstances 
the " exigencies of the service " have on occasion 
required the author to remain in the saddle, with 
but momentary dismounting, if any, for from six- 
teen to eighteen hours, sometimes riding at the 
gallop, and the horse, a thoroughbred by Albion, 



42 Riding 

never exhibited distress. Nor will he ever forget 
that, on the first day of January, 1863, he rode a 
little mustang from daylight until midnight, with- 
out leaving the saddle, except when the horse fell, 
twice upon a frosty hillside and once on a bit 
of corduroy road. But such demands upon the 
endurance of a horse, and, if I may say it, of the 
man, are not unusual in active military service. 

A horse should never be struck or otherwise 
punished in the stable, and the first exhibition of 
cruelty on the part of the groom should be the 
cause of his dismissal. 

The currycomb should be used only for clean- 
ing the brush, and never should be applied to the 
skin of the horse ; but so great is the temptation 
to use it on a mud-covered animal that it is 
better to abolish the instrument. A whalebone 
mud brush, a strong straw brush, a smoothing 
brush, a soft cotton cloth, and several good 
sponges, together with some wisps of clean straw, 
should be the only articles of the toilet. 

The face and nostrils, the dock, and other hair- 
less parts of the horse should be washed daily; 
but, except to cleanse sores or for wet bandages, 
water should never be put upon the legs of the 
horse. Tight bandages are permissible only 
when applied by a skilled groom, or under 
the orders of a veterinary surgeon. Massage, 
rubbing the legs of the horse with the hand 



Purchase, Care, and Sale 43 

downward, should take the place of bandages 
except when support is really needed, and then 
the advice of the professional should be called. 

When a horse comes in from a hard day's 
work, covered with mud, dry serge bandages may 
be loosely put on the legs while the other parts 
of the body are receiving the services of the 
rubber. By the time that the body of the horse 
is clean the mud upon the legs will have dried, 
and, the bandages being removed, the dirt may 
easily be brushed out, a good hand-rubbing 
following. The hoofs should then be cleaned 
out and washed, and the horse be placed in its 
stall knee-deep in straw. Should a horse be 
brought in late and really " done up " by its 
work, it will be better to give it a pail of warm 
gruel, rub dry the saddle-place, and turn it into 
a warm box-stall at once, without annoying it 
with the brushing and handling that would be 
necessary to clean it thoroughly. No weary 
horse, no matter how dirty it may be, has ever 
been the worse for a few hours of complete rest 
under such circumstances, for the quiet will be 
of far more importance than the dressing. But 
this course should be followed only under the 
directions of the master, who should always see 
that his overworked horses get the attention they 
require, if he does not superintend the general 
stable work from time to time as he should. 



44 Riding 

When the hairs of the tail require cleaning, it 
is well to use plenty of unchilled water, pretty 
well saturated with salt, washing the dock also 
with the solution; and this should be used when- 
ever the horse shows a disposition to rub its tail 
against the side of the stall. The horse should 
be dressed in some covered place that is shut off 
from the stalls ; and the owner should, occasion- 
ally at least, look in on his horses when they are 
being dressed and at feeding time ; and should 
he find that he is not master of his own stables, he 
should change his groom or give over keeping 
horses. 

This page is being written while the thermom- 
eter is playing about zero and a cold north wind 
is blustering round the corners of the house, 
which state of affairs suggests that, when it can 
be afforded, it is expedient to have a covered ride 
in which horses may be exercised and trained in 
stormy weather. An area 35 feet by 70 feet is 
quite large enough for twelve or more horses, 
and the many turns and bends required by the 
limited space will improve the horses therein 
exercised in every particular. Then the other- 
wise weary days of winter may be made enjoyable 
to the horseman by musical rides, for many pretty 
and intricate figures may be formed by ten or 
twelve riders. My riding-house is 28 feet by 60, 
and it is quite large enough for my purposes, as I 




O 

I 

D 
< 

I 

H 

o 

CO 

D 

O 

X 

I 

o 

2 



ct: 



Purchase, Care, and Sale 45 

always work my horses singly and without an 
attendant. In London I saw Corradini training 
a manege horse in the gangway of a stable, behind 
a row of stalls ; he had a space of about 8 feet 
by 30. I believe that the horse was never 
galloped until it was ridden in public in the circus 
ring, but the schooling it had received made it 
fit for any movement. 

A little study and a little experience should 
teach a man much regarding the shoeing of his 
horse. If the animal has true and level action, it 
should have light irons all round. If it shambles, 
or if the stride is too confined, the weight of the 
shoes should be increased. The upper surface of 
the iron, which comes next to the hoof, should be 
flat ; the lower surface may be bevelled from the 
outside, or have a groove in which the holes for 
the nails are punched. The hind shoes should 
have very small calks, the toes being correspond- 
ingly thickened to give a level bearing. Only so 
much of the crust or wall of the hoof should be 
removed as will give the foot a level bearing, 
keeping the toe straight and the face of the hoof 
with the slope which conforms to that of the 
pastern. The bars at the heels should not be 
cut away, except upon the recommendation of a 
veterinary, and the frog and sole should have 
nothing removed from them beyond the loose 
flakes that show themselves as those parts are 



46 Riding 

renewed. The shoe should then be made to fit 
the prepared hoof, and fastened by no more than 
five nails, three on the outside quarter, two on the 
inside, the protruding ends of the nails being cut 
off and the exposed points clinched. The outer 
wall of the hoof must not be rasped or scraped. 

Turned-in toes or toes turned out may be pro- 
duced by bad shoeing, or, when natural malforma- 
tions, be mitigated more or less by good work, a 
glance at the foot showing what is required in 
each case. So brushing, interfering, overreach- 
ing, forging, bowed tendons, and many other 
disorders may be produced or prevented. No 
horse should be sent to the forge unattended 
unless the smith is a master of his craft, a white 
blackbird. For ice-covered roads and for slip- 
pery asphalt streets, I have found no shoes equal 
to Dryden's rubber pads. 

When it is no longer advisable to retain a 
horse, it will usually be found that a satisfac- 
tory sale is even more difficult than a satisfac- 
tory purchase. The saying " first loss is best " 
applies in this case with force. If a dealer will 
not take the animal, it is better to send it to 
the auction block than to hold on indefinitely 
for a chance buyer. If the seller desires to keep 
in touch with the horse and to be kept informed 
of its future, he will give a warranty. 



CHAPTER IV 

SOME SADDLE-HORSE STOCK FARMS 

With Lexington, Kentucky, as a centre one 
may, with a radius of thirty miles, describe a cir- 
cumference which will embrace more fine horses 
than any area of like extent upon the globe. 
Here is the home of the American saddle-horse, 
a well-bred animal that has no superior for pleas- 
ure riding. There were good saddle-horses in 
Kentucky before Denmark, Hedgeford's cele- 
brated son, made his appearance; but it was 
largely to the influence of this stallion upon 
suitable stocks that the superb animals now 
under consideration owe their existence, for few, 
if any, of these horses are without some strains 
of Denmark blood, even a slight infusion seem- 
ing to have great effect. From Kentucky these 
saddle-horses have found their way into Illinois, 
Missouri, Tennessee, and other states, and have 
always met with appreciation for their excellent 
qualities. 

The grazing region of central Kentucky has 
a gently undulating surface, watered with pretty 
streams and artificial lakes; on every hand are 

47 



48 Riding 

groves of noble trees in sufificient number to 
diversify the landscape; and a carpet of rich 
green turf is spread over the ground, even where 
the shade is most dense. The climate, the nutri- 
tious food, and the intelligent care of man have 
made these pastures celebrated the world over 
for the character of the domestic animals they 
produce. 

Within short railway journeys of Lexington, 
through a lovely, smiling country, are a number 
of stock farms devoted to the breeding of rid- 
ing-horses; for, although the stupidity of "the 
market " demands that these animals shall be 
quiet to drive, they are bred on purely saddle- 
horse lines, and the breeder hopes that no animal 
leaving his hands will ever be called upon to look 
through a collar. I have known of one case 
where a farmer asked the privilege of taking back 
a very fine animal at the purchase price rather 
than see it put to harness work. 

A soldier throughout two wars, an active and 
efficient park commissioner in Louisville, the 
city of his adoption, a man of extensive travel 
and one prominent in many affairs. General John 
B. Castleman has felt it his duty, as well as his 
pleasure, to give much time and attention to the 
improvement of the saddle-horse. Emily, winner 
of the first premium over mares of any age at the 
Columbian Exposition, Dorothy, with a clear 



Some Saddle-horse Stock Farms 49 

record in seventy show rings, Matilda, who met 
defeat but once in fifty competitions, and many 
other fine animals were reared by this gentleman. 
Some years since General Castleman removed his 
breeding establishment to Clifton Farm, Mercer 
County, and he has recently placed it in the 
hands of his son, Major David Castleman. Here, 
upon a range of eight hundred acres, may be 
found horses of only the most select strains, bred 
upon lines which have been proved true after 
years of study and experiment. At the head of 
the stud is Cecil Palmer, a splendid animal, 
of perfect paces, and in whose pedigree may 
be found the names of Denmark, Cockspur, 
Whip, Gray Eagle, Vermont Black Hawk, and 
other horses whose blood is in the best represen- 
tatives of the saddle-animal. 

The horses of Clifton Farm are broken to ride 
at two years of age, and their education is carried 
on very slowly and most carefully. The foal 
almost invariably takes naturally to "the five 
gaits," but no effort is made to force the animal 
into any particular pace ; and if the influence of 
some remote trotting ancestor exhibits itself in 
an indisposition to take the rack or the running 
walk, the animal is not required to accept such 
accomplishments. The writer saw Major Castle- 
man ride Garrard, a two-year-old, in the slow 
gallop (or canter), the complacency, tempo, and 



50 Riding 

action of which would have been creditable to a 
park hack of mature years and careful training. 
Indeed, the docility of these riding-horses, ob- 
served everywhere in a rather thorough tour, was 
remarkable, 

A ride of fifteen or twenty minutes from Lex- 
ington, upon the Southern railway, will bring 
the visitor to Pisgah, where he will find the estab- 
lishment of the Gay Brothers, the largest farm 
devoted to the rearing of saddle-horses in this 
country. Here about three hundred choice ani- 
mals have the freedom of nearly one thousand 
acres of blue-grass pasture. At the head of the 
stud is Highland Denmark, a true type of his 
family, the sire of more prize winners and fine 
foals than any stallion in the state. At the Louis- 
ville Horse Show, in 1903, the descendants of 
this horse gained first honors in the classes for 
two-year-olds, for three-year-olds, for four-year- 
olds, for the best registered saddle-horse, and for 
the championship (^1000 value). He is the sire 
of Motto and of Elsa, well known throughout 
the country. Highland Denmark is a magnifi- 
cent animal, 16 hands in height, of splendid 
form and graceful movements, docile in temper, 
and, although he runs loose and " has not had a 
stable door shut in his face " for five years, his 
beautiful dark bay coat shines like satin. No 
stock that the writer saw in Kentucky was in 




FIG. 23. — GARRARD, TWO YEARS OLD 




FIG. 24. — CARBONEL, FOUR YEARS OLD 



Some Saddle-horse Stock Farms 51 

better condition than that of the Gay Brothers, 
the foals of the present year being particularly 
strong and active. ' p^ gfew 3:>ic 

The Gay Brothers break their horses to saddle 
at two years of age; at three years of age their 
education is enlarged ; and at four they are ready 
for purchasers, and none of them remain on hand 
unless retained for some specific purpose.: So 
great is the demand for horses of this class, that 
breeders could readily dispose of more than double 
the numbers they can furnish, and dealers and 
other purchasers find it difficult to obtain very 
desirable horses of four years and upward. Some 
dealers buy weanlings and yearlings to make 
sure of the produce of certain well-known mares, 
and it is by no means a rare case that a foal makes 
its appearance in the world, the property of some 
one other than the breeder who has anticipated 
its birth. 

The saddle-horse farm next in size to that of 
Gay Brothers is that of Colonel John T. Wood- 
ford, near Mount Sterling, about thirty miles from 
Lexington. Colonel Woodford is well and favor- 
ably known, not only throughout his native state, 
but wherever the Kentucky saddle-horse finds 
admirers ; and many of his horses are sold to 
clients who have never seen his animals, but who 
rely upon Colonel Woodford to carry out their 
wishes. Indeed, more than one disinterested 



52 Riding 

admirer volunteered the information to the writer 
that the purchaser who trusted to Colonel Wood- 
ford's choice was apt to fare better than he who 
made his own selection with less knowledge of 
the animal. At the head of this stud is Forest 
Denmark, a famous sire. Then comes Stirling 
Chief, a fine chestnut stallion, well bred and truly 
made, of vigorous but graceful action, exact paces, 
and a kind disposition, half-brother to Montgom- 
ery Chief and to Bourbon King, the two most 
highly admired stallions of their class. Here, too, 
are Dickens, a beautiful horse of a rich brown coat, 
and Lexington, both Denmarks on the side of sire 
and of dam. This breeding is not so usual as 
might be supposed, although one of the best 
judges of saddle-horses in the state of Kentucky 
spoke the general sentiment when he said that a 
saddle-horse could not have too much Denmark 
blood. About one hundred animals of various 
ages, all of the best strains, fill up the tale. 
Colonel Woodford does not break his horses to 
saddle until they are in their fourth year, as he 
desires that they should have strength and devel- 
opment before they undergo training; but their 
excellent dispositions and the handling incident 
to their care make them quiet and easy to manage 
and quick to learn. 

Five miles from Versailles, a short journey from 
Lexington, one finds the farm of the Ball Brothers. 




FIG. 25. — HIGH LASSIE. TWO YEARS OLD 




FIG. 26. — MARES AND FOALS. GAY BROTHERS 



Some Saddle-horse Stock Farms 53 

This is the home of Montgomery Chief, the grand 
horse that has fairly carried off the honors wher- 
ever he has been shown. In 1902 he won the 
championship at Louisville, Nashville, Indianap- 
olis, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Chicago. In 
1903, barred at Louisville, he was champion at 
Kansas City ($1000 prize), Chicago, St. Louis, 
and Atlanta. In 1904 he was first in his class at 
the St. Louis Exposition. Of imposing size, great 
substance, faultless form, golden coat, proud car- 
riage, and brilliant action, Montgomery Chief is an 
admirable animal. His qualities seem too great 
for everyday use, and he is worthy of bearing an 
emperor at the head of a victorious army. If dur- 
ing his career the country had a more beautiful 
saddle stallion, it is to be regretted that no such 
appearance was made, and this horse must be con- 
sidered the greatest of his class and day until his 
colors are taken from him in public competition. 

It must not be understood that excellent saddle- 
horses may be found only on the large stock farms, 
where the selection is greater and the chances 
are greater. There is a good horse for nearly 
every holding in the Blue Grass region, and the 
man who breeds his only mare may through good 
luck, aiding good judgment, rear a Montgomery 
Chief or a Bourbon King, the last-named, I may 
say, being a young horse selected by many of the 
best judges to bear away the bell in future contests. 



CHAPTER y.^y 

THE SADDLE — THE BRIDLE — HOW TO MOUNT -^ ' 

The English or flat saddle, is the only one fit 
for sport or pleasure. It gives no trouble in 
mounting or dismounting, it is the only form 
which permits every man to obtain the true seat, 
and it is far and away the most comfortable tree 
when a horse falls with its rider. It is used by 
civilians throughout the civilized world, and by 
mihtary men in their sports and whenever its use 
by them is permissible. Indeed, the nearer the 
requirements of the military saddle allow it to ap- 
proach the English saddle, the better. 

The tree of the saddle should have a cut-back 
pommel to prevent the withers of the horse from 
being chafed. The side-bars should take an even 
bearing upon each side of the horse's back, a 
channel in the panel being made to keep the 
saddle clear of the spine. The throat of the tree 
should not be narrow enough to pinch the horse ; 
if too broad, it will not be stable. The tree being 
suitable in other respects, it will be very easy to 
bend the lower points until they embrace the 
shoulders snugly, and to have a well-fitted saddle. 

54 




FIG. 27. — STIRLING GHIEF 




FIG. 28. — STIRLING CHIEF IN TROT 



The Saddle 55 

-5 'The stirrups should be of tempered steel, of 
large size and not too light, with the tread at 
least an inch in breadth. When the panel, or 
under stuffing of the saddle, has been found to be 
right, care should be taken to preserve it, as it is 
very difficult to find a saddler who will replace it 
exactly. A cloth of felt or a piece of thin leather 
under the saddle will preserve the panel for 
many years. In places where I have found it 
impossible to have the panel satisfactorily fitted, 
I have removed it altogether, and girthed the 
saddle over thick felt numnah, a proceeding which 
answered perfectly. Saddle-galls are always due 
either to an ill-fitting tree or an ill-fitting rider; 
they are preventable, they should not exist. 

The saddle having been found to suit the horse, 
the rider may consider his own comfort and con- 
venience. It is always better, where skilful work- 
men can be found, to buy the tree of the right 
length and have the saddle finished to suit horse 
and rider. The web foundation of the seat can 
readily be arranged, before the pigskin is put on, 
so that the dip will suit the conformation of the 
mian. The dip, or lowest point of the seat, should 
be slight. If too far to the rear, it will give the 
man; a sensation of falling back; if too far to the 
front, it will throw his body forward. When, sit- 
ting upon his buttocks, he finds that he maintains 
a perfectly erect seat without restraint, it is just 



56 Riding 

right. Where saddlers do not know their trade, 
it only remains to try finished saddles until the 
horse and the man are suited. 

The whip should be a light, straight, flexible 
contrivance, with no more of a lash than a silken 
tip. The use of the crop, except in the hunting- 
field, is an absurdity. Fashion dictates that the 
whip should be held nearly straight in the right 
hand and pointing across the withers of the horse ; 
but Fashion is not a horseman. As the whip 
should give strokes upon the forehand of the 
horse only under exceptional circumstances, 
common sense dictates that the instrument should 
be held point down, so that it may be applied 
with facility against the side of the horse just back 
of the girths — the proper place for its effects to 
produce increased impulses from the croup. With 
a woman the riding rod takes the place of the 
right leg of the horseman, and it is impossible to 
use it in that manner if it is held across the 
shoulders of the horse. 

There are but two bridle bits for riding purposes. 
The first and most useful is the snaffle, a smooth, 
round mouthpiece, jointed in the middle, with 
rings, and, where it is employed alone, with cheek- 
pieces also on the ends. The snaffle is the bit for 
the beginner, because he can do little harm with it ; 
and it is the bit for the accomplished horseman, 
because in his hands it has a great range of effects. 



The Bridle 57 

The curb-bit should never be used without the 
snaffle, as there are often occasions when the 
powers of the curb-bit alone are ineffectual, and 
the snaffle must go to its assistance. The mouth- 
piece of the curb-bit is rigid, with a raised middle, 
or " port," to give ease to the tongue of the horse 
and to let the mouthpiece come down upon the 
bars of the animal's lower jaw. Upon each end of 
the mouthpiece is an arm, the upper branch of 
which has a fixed ring for the cheek-piece of the 
bridle, the lower branch having a loose ring to 
receive the rein. The lower branch of this arm, 
measuring from the middle of the mouthpiece 
to the middle of the lower ring, should be 
3J inches in length. The upper branch, measur- 
ing from the middle of the mouthpiece to the 
highest part of the ring, into which the head-stall 
is buckled, should be if inches in length, the 
assumed depth of the lower jaw of the horse. 
These measurements are as nearly exact as may 
be, to get the effects of a lever of the second class 
upon such a yielding and changeable thing as the 
head of the horse, the animal being, say, 15^ hands 
high, of normal form. Upon the ring of the 
upper branches metal hooks are fastened, and to 
these the curb-chain is attached. When the curb- 
chain, its links twisted until the chain is flat, fits 
properly in the chin groove of the horse, directly 
opposite to the cannons of the bit, that point 



58 Riding 

becomes the fulcrum of the lever, and the power 
being applied through the reins to the long 
branches, the effects are applied to the bars of 
the lower jaw. The width of the mouthpiece will 
depend upon that of the animal's jaw; it should 
not be so narrow as to pinch the muzzle be ween 
the branches, nor so wide as to have an annoy- 
ing play. ;v :/vl>^ io tii^d 
To place the double bridle upon the llbfse, th^ 
groom should approach the animal on the near 
side, his left arm carrying the bridle by the head- 
piece and reins. Then, the stall halter having 
been removed, he will pass the reins over the 
head of the horse until they rest upon the neck 
near the withers ; taking the bridle in the right 
hand by the head-piece, so that the nose of the 
horse goes between the cheek-pieces, he will raise 
the bridle until the bits are about to touch the 
animal's lips ; then, opening its mouth with the 
thumb of the left hand, he will gently insert 
the bits and slip the head-piece over the poll of 
the horse and see that the ears are free, finally 
fastening the throat-lash loosely. ' ': 
-i'The bridle should be so fitted that 'the snaffle 
lies snugly up in the corners of the horse's mioiith 
without pressing against the lips. The curb-bit, 
lower in the mouth, should rest upon the bare 
bars just above the tusks of the horse or the place 
where they are usually found in the male. The 




FIG. 29. — DOUBLE BRIDLE FITTED 




FIG. 30.— MOUNTING WITH STIRRUPS 



The Bridle 5^ 

curb-chain should not be fastened until the rider 
is about to mount, and a horse should never be led 
while the curb-chain is hooked on both sides. 

In hooking up the curb-chain it should first be 
seen that on the far side it is outside of the 
snaffle; then it should be twisted until it is quite 
flat and hooked up on the near side outside of the 
snaffle, at just such a length as to lie smoothly in 
the chin groove. To test the accuracy of this the 
curb-reins should be seized under the jaw of the 
horse and drawn toward its chest. If the bit 
stands stiffly, the chain is too tight. If the 
branches of the curb-bit come back in a line with 
the reins or anywhere near it, the chain is too 
loose. The chain will be found to be of the right 
length when, maintaining its place in the chin 
groove, a slight tension upon the reins gives such 
i pressure upon the jaw of the horse. If the 
curb-chain be not brought from one hook to the 
other on the outside of the snaffle, it will interfere 
with the action of both bits and will pinch the 
lips of the horse. On more than half of the 
saddle-horses I look at, this important rule is not 
observed. 

It is the usual and better custom to have the 
horse turn in its stall when the halter is taken off, 
and to bridle it as it stands with tail to the 
manger. Then the horse is led to the gangway 
and the saddle put on ; if the saddling has not 



6o Riding 

been done some half-hour previously, as is to be 
recommended. 

In saddling the horse the first care is to see 
that the panel is perfectly clean and dry, then that 
the hairs on the back of the horse lie smoothly ; 
the saddle, with the girths and stirrup leathers 
crossed over the seat, should be lifted gently on 
to the back of the horse, and put exactly in the 
saddle-place, which is as far forward as it will 
remain fixed and yet clear the withers and give 
the shoulders free play. 

Unless a rider is accustomed to mounting, and 
that in some settled manner, it is often a very 
awkward performance. Provided he does not 
pull at the cantle and so bring the saddle awry to 
gall the horse, it does not matter greatly how he 
gets safely on the back of the horse. He may, 
standing on the near side of the horse, either take 
the reins in his right hand and with it clasp the 
pommel of the saddle, insert his left foot in the 
stirrup, spring from the ball of the right foot, and, 
seizing a lock of the mane, steady himself until he 
carries his right leg over the croup and so sink into 
the saddle ; or, facing to the rear, he may take the 
reins in his left hand and with it seize a lock of 
the mane, then, inserting his left foot in the stirrup, 
spring from the right foot, and as he rises take 
hold of the pommel of the saddle, carry his right 
leg over the back of the horse, and when he has 




FIG. 31. — MOUNTING WITHOUT STIRRUPS 




FIG. 32. — MOUNTING WITHOUT STIRRUPS 







" 


~ 



FIG, 33. — DISMOUNTING WITHOUT STIRRUPS 



How to Mount 6i 

found his seat transfer the reins to his right hand. 
By the former manner he will have the advantage 
of being able to control the horse, in case it goes 
forward, as the right hand, holding the reins, may 
readily be freed from the pommel. The latter 
mode is, perhaps, less difficult, especially with a 
tall horse. If the animal is restless, the rider may 
have "a leg up," as the jockeys do, by taking 
grasps of the mane and pommel and having an 
attendant seize his left leg above the ankle and 
aid him in rising to the position from which 
he may carry his right leg over. 

In dismounting with the stirrup, the rider 
should first release his right foot ; then, transfer- 
ring the reins to his right hand, he should with it 
seize the pommel and with his left hand take a 
lock of the mane ; then, taking his weight upon 
his left foot, supported by his hands, he should 
carry his right leg over the croup, face the horse, 
and come gently to the ground on his right foot, 
finally releasing his left foot and his holds upon 
mane and pommel, the reins being retained, to 
control the horse. 

Any man of ordinary activity should be able to 
vault into the saddle without the aid of the stirrup 
or the assistance of a groom, whether the horse 
be standing or moving, even in the gallop. In- 
deed, by taking advantage of the movements of 
the animal, a man may more readily vault into the 



6i Riding d\ 

saddle of a horse that is not at rest than when it 
is standing quietly, provided that he can get at 
the near shoulder of the horse and secure his 
clasps upon the mane and the pommel. That is, if 
he can get the proper holds, from the right posi- 
tion, no horse can prevent his gaining his seat. 

To vault into the saddle, the man should stand 
facing the near shoulder of the horse. In the left 
hand he should take a lock of the mane, halfway 
between the ears and the withers, and, with the 
right hand resting on the front of the saddle, he 
should grasp the throat of the pommel, thumb 
under, fingers pointing to the ground over the 
right side of the horse. Then, springing from 
the balls of both feet, he should take his weight 
upon his extended arms and, carrying his right 
leg over the croup of the horse, sink into his seat. 
Should the horse be plunging or moving, the man 
will mark the time of some forward impulse, and 
springing with it reach the saddle without mak- 
ing the exact position on the extended arms ; in 
other words, he will throw himself upon the horse 
as it pulls him forward. Always in mounting, by 
this or by any other method, except that secondly 
described, the reins should be taken in the right 
hand and held by pressure against the pommel, 
so that in case of failure the rider will be able to 
control his horse ; when his seat is secured, the 
rider will pass the reins into the bridle-hand. 



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FIG. 34.— THE JOCKEY SEAT 




FIG. 35. — POINTING KNEES ABOVE THE CREST 
OF THE HORSE 



How to Dismount 63 

To dismount without stirrups, the rider should 
transfer the reins to his right hand, take the holds 
on mane and pommel as in mounting, lean far for- 
ward, and, taking his weight upon his flexed arms, 
carry his right leg back over the croup to the near 
side, and drop gently to the ground. 

In dismounting from a moving horse — and 
this can. readily be done even at a moderate gal- 
IppH-t^lh^. rid^r should be ready to take a few 
steps in the direction of progress as he reaches 
the ground,,;ija;. order that he may maintain his 
eqi^iUbriurttinij l^iji rikbt?i r - .:- a\ n 

^ 'i--:-- /ijsriW 



l>ii> iC- 



CHAPTER VI 

THE SEAT — GENERAL HORSEMANSHIP 

The most important thing in horsemanship is 
the acquirement of a stable seat, for without it 
not only is the rider insecure, but it is impossible 
that the hand should act with lightness and pre- 
cision if his seat is so feeble that under any cir- 
cumstances he should depend upon the reins for 
maintaining his position on the horse. 

Whether it be for pleasure, sport, or war, a 
man has one seat that is the best possible. This 
is readily obtained, even upon mounting the horse 
for the first time ; but to keep it exactly under the 
more or less vigorous movements of the horse 
requires long practice and a suppleness of the 
body in every part, that comes from carefully fol- 
lowed exercises in the saddle. 

The seat about to be described was that of the 
earliest riders, represented by Pheidias, described 
by Xenophon, employed by the Bedouins and 
other Eastern horsemen, when no cumbrous trees 
with a dip of varying parts of a circle interfered 
with a position that was safe, natural, and rational, 
■ — the seat in use before those saddles which held 

64 




FIG. 36. —SEAT WITHOUT STIRRUPS 



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3^dH 






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^ 




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FIG. 37. — SEAT WITH STIRRUPS 




FIG. 38. — LEANING BACK 



The Seat 65 

the rider between high pommels and high cantles 
demanding a standing posture in the stirrups that 
prohibited the grasp of the knees and thighs and 
the pHancy of the body which gives friction and 
balance to the mounted man. 

I may say here that the saddletree was not 
used until the Romans introduced it sometime 
in the fourth century, and the stirrup followed in 
the seventh century, first as an aid in mounting 
and finally as a support. The Greeks and their 
ancestors and the horsemen of the Euphrates 
Valley rode upon cloths and skins, without stir- 
rups and without trees. The first mention of the 
horse that we find upon the monuments is sup- 
posed to date about 3800 years before our era. 
The first representation of the horse is upon a 
little wooden disk now in the British Museum, in 
which two horses attached to a chariot by har- 
nesses that closely resemble those now in use are 
shown; and this work is ascribed to Aahmes I. 
(about 1700 B.C.) and suggests that the animal 
was introduced into Egypt by the Hyksos (pos- 
sibly Bedouins), as they had possession of the 
country previously. I cannot find any represen- 
tations of mounted men earlier than the sculp- 
tures upon the Assyrian monuments, attributed to 
the middle of the seventh century B.C. It would 
seem from the inscriptions and from historical 
writings that, both in war and in the chase, the 



66 Riding 

horse was in very early times first and most fre- 
quently used in harness; and there can be no 
doubt that in ancient days chariots were em- 
ployed in charging bodies of the enemy just as 
modern cavalry are used. The residents of moun- 
tainous countries, I venture to say, were the first 
to use cavalry. Wherever the ancient rider is 
shown upon the monuments, before the introduc- 
tion of the saddletree, he has exactly the seat of 
the modern, the only possible seat upon a flat or 
treeless saddle. 

The variations which appear in the seats of 
modern horsemen are observable in the positions 
of the lower parts of the leg from the knee down, 
and such may be passed over as negligible quan- 
tities, for the principles are everywhere observed ; 
and while it is doubtless better that there should 
be no deviations from the canons of the art in 
any particular, circumstafices sometimes demand 
trifling changes, as when the soldier's kit requires 
the lower parts of his legs to be carried unduly 
to the rear of the perpendicular, or when the cross- 
country rider drives his feet home, to secure the 
irons, and so obtains rigid, insensible bearing in- 
stead of the lively, springy contact of the balls of 
the toes. It is like walking on the heels. For 
the best results, that pressure only should be given 
to the tread of the stirrup that will hold the iron 
with an elastic touch ; any undue weight will force 



The Seat 67 

the seat, as can plainly be understood. This forc- 
ing of the seat is usually avoided by the rider 
carrying his feet to the rear when the horse 
springs in jumping, and then he depends upon 
his true seat without the aid of the stirrups ; 
where this is not done, the rider does not stick 
very closely to his saddle, as many of the photo- 
graphs of leaping horses show. I do not say 
that it is not necessary on occasion to ride with 
the feet home, but I do say, that it gives a stiff 
seat, and that it should only be followed when 
the necessity arises; certainly not for pleasure 
riding, where that mode, as well as the crop, are 
unsuitable. 

On page 200 of that admirable work, " Horses, 
Saddles, and Bridles," General Carter gives a 
photographic illustration of the American mili- 
tary seat, which is an absolutely perfect represen- 
tation of the seat about to be described. The 
photographs of the best riders of the various 
countries reproduced here exhibit the same 
type; and it will be observed that where the 
most violent exertions of the horse are to be 
expected the saddle is of the English form, for 
in it the friction and balance which insure firm- 
ness are found in the highest degree. 

The flat race jockey is a striking exception to 
what has been said of horsemen's seats, and the 
ridiculous and tottering pose he assumes is to 



68 Riding 

throw as much of the weight as possible on the 
shoulder of the sprinter, in order that the drivers 
of the hind quarters may have free play. But 
when the Jock comes to steeplechasing, he 
lengthens his stirrup leather and rides like a 
man. 

The man may find his own best seat in the 
following manner : mounting the horse, he should 
sit down in the saddle, taking his weight upon 
his buttocks, while he holds his body erect, the 
shoulders held back squarely, his chin slightly 
withdrawn, while his arms hang down loosely. 
He should then, without disturbance in any other 
part of his body, raise his legs upward and in- 
ward until the points of his knees meet above 
the crest of the horse. From this position he 
will drop his legs slowly until the inner sides of 
his thighs and the flat inner surfaces of his bent 
knees take every possible point of contact with 
the saddle, the lower parts of the legs hanging 
without stiffness. There can be no question with 
regard to the height and position of the knees. 
Should they be too high, the upper surfaces of 
the thigh will have contact with the saddle; 
should they be too low, the under surfaces of the 
thigh will find the saddle, when the points of the 
knees take this hold. The jockey seat is the ex- 
treme type of the first-named condition, the 
armor-clad knight an extreme type of the latter. 




FIG. 40. — A PUPIL OF SAUMUR, M. DE GISBERT 




FIG. 41. — THAT MASTER OF THE ART, M. DE BUSSIGNY 



The Seat 69 

The length of the stirrup leathers will be right 
when the tread of the iron strikes the heels. 
When the rider's feet are inserted in the stirrups, 
it will be found that without effort they are 
parallel with the sides of the horse, and very 
slightly in rear of the perpendicular. From this 
erect position upon his buttocks, together with 
the grasp of the knees and thighs, the rider has 
the strongest and best possible seat that can be 
obtained through weight, balance, and friction ; 
and from it the upper part of the body may, with- 
out affecting his stability, be bent forward or 
back, or swayed from side to side, as circumstances 
may require, while the lower parts of his legs are 
free to apply the calf or the heel with rapidity and 
precision to the sides of the horse. How much 
of this bending or this swaying of the body may 
sometimes be required is exhibited by the photo- 
graph of the Italian cavalry officer who rides 
down the face of a cliff, or by that of the rider 
who makes a wheel, or pirouette volte, at a rapid 
pace. From this seat the soldier may rise high 
enough to give force to the blow of his sabre; 
the hunter may send his feet home in the irons 
without lengthening the leathers, and every horse- 
man will have the greatest security in the saddle 
that his skill in riding makes possible. 

There must be no rigidity; from that elastic 
touch of the ball of the foot, throughout his whole 



yo Riding 

body, the man must be supple and unconstrained. 
Stiffness in any part will destroy the essential 
harmony, and prohibit grace and ease. 

Dancing and calisthenics go far in producing 
that suppleness, facility, and agility so necessary 
for excellence in horsemanship, and gymnastic 
exercises upon the back of the horse are of great 
assistance in acquiring balance and firmness of 
grip. Some of these more important mounted 
exercises are now given, and others will occur 
to the man who cares to take the trouble to ride 
well. I may say here that I know men who have 
been riding from twenty to thirty years and 
through carelessness and want of instruction are 
but little better horsemen than mere beginners. 

A very quiet horse should be saddled and 
bridled and taken to some retired place, if it be 
a bit of soft ground there would be no harm, or 
be brought into the riding-house where there are 
no other horses except those being used for a like 
purpose. 

The man will then mount and take the posi- 
tion of " the seat without stirrups," his arms hang- 
ing down loosely. He should then, without 
disturbing the position of the seat, and without 
struggling, bend forward until one or the other 
shoulder touches the crest of the horse, regaining 
the erect position slowly and gently. He should 
in a like manner lean backward, until his shoul- 




FIG. 42. — CHASSEURS D'AFRIQUE 




FIG. 43. — ARABS IN FRENCH SERVICE 



General Horsemanship 71 

ders rest upon the croup of the horse, and then rise 
as before. 

The rider will then lose his seat, to the right 
or to the left, as far as he may without falling, and 
regain the saddle by a twist of the body and but- 
tocks and grasp of the thighs, without taking any 
assistance from his hands. This exercise is valu- 
able in giving the rider the power of regaining 
his seat, should it be by chance disturbed, with- 
out pulling on the mouth of the horse. 

From the seat before described, the rider will 
carry his right leg over the crest of the horse, 
then he should turn to the left so that both legs 
are hanging on the near side of the horse, then 
carry the left leg over the croup of the horse, 
which brings his face to the rear, then carry over 
the right leg to the far side of the horse, and 
finally resume the seat by carrying his left leg 
over the crest of the animal. In a similar man- 
ner the turn should be made to the right, and in 
neither case may aid be sought from the hands. 

None of these exercises are difficult; after 
more than fifty years' work in the saddle I do 
them with ease, and a boy or a young man should 
find themselves perfect after a few trials. Begin- 
ners should practise them daily, and no horseman 
who hopes to keep up his suppleness in the 
saddle should neglect them for any length of 
time as long as he rides. It is not necessary to 



72 Riding 

be a contortionist, nor will it answer to be an 
ossified freak. 

I dare not say how old a man may be and yet 
retain all of those powers which make him a skil- 
ful horseman. I know many riders who are well 
up in the " sixties," who do not appear to have 
lost any of their adroitness. That master of the 
art, De Bussigny, is no longer very young, al- 
though no one would believe the fact on seeing 
him on a horse. I saw James Newsome riding 
and training when he was far past seventy. I 
remember being present when that gallant gentle- 
man. Count Taubenheim, equerry to the late 
king of Wiirtemberg, already past ninety years 
of age, rode in a quadrille before the present 
emperor of Germany and gained deserved ap- 
plause for his admirable performance. 

We have inherited from the English many 
undesirable prejudices, among them the belief 
that no "foreigner" can sit a horse. In every 
country of continental Europe the majority of 
men who are accustomed to ride are thorough 
horsemen, some of them of the highest distinc- 
tion, because upon the continent riding is looked 
upon and practised as an art which requires 
application. The English breed the best horses 
in the world, they manage those in harness mar- 
vellously well, and there are no bolder or more 
determined horsemen; but it must be acknowl- 




FIG. 44. — FRENCH OFFICER 




FIG. 45. — FRENCH OFFICERS 




FIG. 46. —THE FAULTLESS HORSEMANSHIP OF ITALIANS 




FIG. 47. — ITALIAN OFFICERS 




FIG. 48. — AN ITALIAN OFFICER 



General Horsemanship 73 

edged that there are riders in Italy, Germany, 
France, and Austria who equal them in boldness 
and determination and surpass the best of them 
in dexterity and knowledge of the art. The litera- 
ture of the various countries bears out what has 
been written above, for until very recently the 
English works on horsemanship were crude be- 
yond belief, and any improvement that has taken 
place is due to the influence of foreign authors. 

In America there has been, until very recently, 
but little interest in horsemanship except in some 
of the Southern states, and among soldiers and 
the few devoted to polo and hunting; but the 
horse shows, now so general throughout the 
country, have excited great interest in the horse ; 
the riding-schools offer intelligent instruction, 
and between them there will be fostered, let us 
hope, a taste and inclination for good horses and 
riding. This subject will be treated at greater 
length in the following chapter. 

The German foot-soldier is very stiff in his 
movements, at least on parade, and there is a 
certain stiffness about the trooper that detracts 
from his appearance in the eyes of the critic, but 
his seat is firm, and he handles his horse with 
precision. His officer is usually a very fine 
horseman, riding boldly and easily and with a 
knowledge of the niceties of the art. Steeple- 
chasing and racing are practised largely through- 



76 Riding 

we look upon the hunting-field, the steeplechase 
course, the polo grounds, or the pleasant Row. 

The British horseman is a sportsman, and a 
good sportsman, for, although he does not often 
have to submit to defeat, he takes it like a man 
and is ready with equal mind for another trial. 
His insular prepossessions have awakened so 
much animosity in the minds of other nations 
that they find it hard to be just to him ; and after 
all these years of reciprocities he is about as 
greatly misunderstood by European nations as 
they are by him. As a consequence, he jeers and 
sneers at all foreigners, and they deny that he is 
a fair-minded sportsman or a good horseman. I 
am speaking now of the general public who form, 
or at least express, national opinions, for it is 
known that there is often good feeling between 
those members of the various nations who meet 
on the same social plane. 

An English sportsman, at his best, is a bold, 
strong, determined rider, and this can be said of 
a greater proportion of British horsemen than of 
those of any other country ; but he despises all 
refinements, and many things which upon the 
continent are considered essentials ; he looks 
upon circus tricks as beneath his notice; the 
consequence is that he falls behind in a field in 
which he should be first. His primary object in 
riding is to get across a difficult country, and do 




FIG. 49. —TROOPER, ROYAL HORSE GUARDS 




FIG. 50. —TENT PEGGING. SCOTS GRAYS 



General Horsemanship tj 

it quickly, and he succeeds ; he is encouraged by 
his favorite authors, who know nothing beyond 
this, to believe that nothing remains. I think 
that the observer who has seen the sportsman 
ride will be disappointed with the horsemanship 
of British troopers ; he will, I think, see that the 
officers, as a rule, ride well and gracefully, but 
that the men do not ride as skilfully as they 
should, their instruction being turned over to 
riding-masters who follow primitive regulations. 
However, there can be no doubt that the British 
soldier will always maintain that high reputation 
for valor which even his enemies grant. 



CHAPTER VII 

AMERICAN HORSEMANSHIP — OUR CAVALRY 

I HAVE said that in this country until very 
recent years comparatively little interest was taken 
in riding except in some of the Southern states 
and in the army. This was not because aptitude 
for the exercise was confined to certain districts, 
for the hunt, polo, and riding clubs, and the 
horse shows, now so general throughout the con- 
tinent, are proving that everywhere our coun- 
trymen have the ability to make good horsemen. 
In the East there is, for example, Mr. Foxhall 
Keene, who has a world-wide fame as a thorough 
sportsman and a splendid rider ; and although he 
has perhaps no superior among these there are in 
New York and Massachusetts riders of the very 
first force. 

When the subject of riding is broached, our 
minds naturally turn to Kentucky. 

From a long line of good horsemen the Ken- 
tuckian inherits a love for the animal and a talent 
for riding, and from childhood he is accustomed to 
the saddle. His work in breeding and in training 
has placed his country under a debt of gratitude. 

78 




FIG. 51. — GENERAL CASTLEMAN 



American Horsemanship 79 

Those who are well capable of judging say that 
the sight of General Castleman upon a charger of 
his own breeding is something to remember. Mr. 
Charles Railey is unrivalled in showing the grace- 
ful movements of a well-balanced saddle-horse, 
and all of his family are skilled in the art of riding. 
These names are mentioned because they are so 
widely known, but there is no part of the state 
in which one may not see that the words " Ken- 
tuckian " and " horseman " are synonymous. The 
writer has no intention of slighting Virginia, Mis- 
souri, and Illinois, the first-named the cradle of 
horsemanship in this country, the latter two rapidly 
taking prominent places in the breeding and in 
the training of the riding-horse, but the limits of 
this work prevent full justice being done to all. 

I have nothing but admiration for the skill and 
daring of the riders of the Western plains, but 
their bits, their saddles, and, I may say, their 
horses are unsuited to the uses we are consider- 
ing, and we can give them only our applause. 

Colonel Cody, who was a " pony express rider " 
before the days of the transcontinental railway, 
was a bold and tireless horseman. On one occa- 
sion, his reliefs having been killed or driven off 
by Indians, he went three hundred and twenty- 
two miles in thirty-two hours of continuous rid- 
ing. He is still a strong and graceful horseman, 
having adopted the military seat, and is one of 



8o Riding 

the best known and most picturesque figures of 
our day. 

The mention of Indians reminds me that they 
are the real American horsemen. My acquaint- 
ance with the red man is mostly of rather a 
vicarious character, somewhat similar to Mark 
Twain's pedestrian excursions. My grandfather, 
Lieutenant-colonel Richard Clough Anderson, 6th 
Virginia Continental Line, went to the Falls of 
the Ohio, now Louisville, Kentucky, in the year 
1 784, and was one of that band of pioneers who 
upheld and advanced the border. Since then 
there has been little or no time when some mem- 
ber of the family, or close friend, has not been in 
contact with the Indian. When the red man be- 
gan to break and ride the wild horse, it would 
be difficult to say. The woodland and border 
savages used horses stolen from the whites, but 
Lewis and Clark found the Western tribes using 
the mustang, broncho, cayuse, or whatever the 
title of the free horse may be, as early as 1804. 
Excepting the Comanches and some of the Sioux, 
the Indians, I am told, were neither very bold nor 
very skilful riders, although they managed their 
horses with sufficient dexterity to make them dan- 
gerous enemies, but they had no mercy upon their 
beasts and no sentimental regard for them. 

The story of the United States cavalry ex- 
plains, in brief, the remarkable efficiency it has 




FIG. 52. — MR. C. ELMER RAILEY 



1 ^ 


v 




i 




^ 



FIG. 53. — A RIDER OF THE PLAINS 




Our Cavalry 8i 

maintained in spite of the disadvantages with 
which it has been burdened — single bridles, 
short service, and changeable riding instructions. 
Up to 1 86 1 the corps consisted of but five regi- 
ments, commanded by the most select body of 
officers in any service, gentlemen who had passed 
through the best mihtary^ollege in th^ jvori^ or 
who were especially fitted for the duty to which ]f 
they were assigned. Between the Civil War and ' ^%if^^ 
the recent war with Spain five more regiments /wf&v' * 
were added, which were soon assimilated through 
tradition and example, and the still small body of 
mounted men kept and augmented, during a most 
trying period of great battles and severe Indian 
campaigns, its splendid reputation. In 1891 five 
more regiments were added, and these were 
readily taken up by the ten existing organizations, 
now forming a fair force which is a credit to our 
army, and which should be changed only by 
graduated increase, say with one or two regiments 
armed with that unwieldy, but fear-provoking, 
weapon, the lance. 

Before undertaking the present chapter I went 
to Fort Riley, Kansas, to visit the School of 
Application for mounted service, to gain informa- 
tion regarding our cavalry, and to obtain photo- 
graphs for the illustration of this book. 

Unfortunately, the weather proved so bad that 
I could take advantage of but few of the oppor- 



82 Riding 

tunities for using my camera, so kindly offered me 
by Colonel Steevers, the commandant; but in the 
short, infrequent periods of good light I procured 
the pictures which adorn these pages, and other- 
wise I saw much that was of great interest. 

The school of equitation, to which branch I 
gave my attention chiefly, is under the direction 
of Captain W. C. Short, a splendid horseman, and 
both his scholars and the senior officers spoke in 
the highest praise of the good results which had 
followed his instruction. When a regular, simple, 
but complete method of horsemanship becomes 
general throughout the mounted service, a cavalry- 
man may be made efficient in less than half the 
time required by less finished systems which 
may be varied with each change in the company 
commander. 

I saw a few of the graduates from the school 
of equitation in such movements as a cavalryman 
might be called upon to make, pirouettes, side 
movements, etc., and also in jumping. The rid- 
ing was excellent, and the horses showed far 
better training than is usually found in officers' 
chargers. While at the fort, it so happened 
that I saw but two troops mounted. One morn- 
ing Captain Rutherford's troop, of the Fourth 
Cavalry, passed me in going out to target practice, 
and I was greatly pleased with the appearance of 
the men, as they bore themselves with easy, grace- 




FIG. 54. — "BUFFALO BILL," COLONEL W. F. CODY 




FIG. 55. — AN AMERICAN HORSEMAN 



Our Cavahy S^ 

ful, but strong seats, the stirrup leathers two or 
three holes shorter than in former days, and just 
right to my way of thinking, while the neat ser- 
vice uniform was a wonderful improvement over 
the old blue blouse and baggy trousers, — as old 
Pepys would have said, "a pretty sight." Later 
in the day I saw a quick drill, trot and gallop, 
of Troop K, Eighth Cavalry, under Lieutenant 
George Williams. I was told that, owing to the 
interruptions incident to target practice, the men 
and horses were not in the best condition for this 
work ; but there was no occasion for adverse criti- 
cism, and the performance compared most favor- 
ably with similar movements I had witnessed 
with " crack " companies of European cavalry. 
On another occasion some of the men of Troop L, 
Eighth Cavalry, under the direction of Lieutenant 
Duncan Elliott, gave an exhibition of daring 
horsemanship. " Roman standing races " upon 
two horses, vaulting upon and over two and three 
galloping horses, standing upon the bare back of 
a horse while leaping the bar, and, finally, the 
riding of horses which " bucked " violently, were 
features of this entertainment, which was con- 
cluded without an error or an awkward motion. 
Visits to the farriery, to the school for veteri- 
nary studies, to the pack-train, and to the targets 
filled in the time pleasantly and profitably. On 
the whole, one must be a very unobservant, unap- 



84 Riding 

preciative visitor who would not be impressed 
with the great value of the School of Application, 
not only in the branch upon which I have 
touched, but in everything relating to the 
mounted service. 




FIG. 56.— TROOPERS, FOURTH AND EIGHTH CAVALRY, 
U.S.A. 



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FIG. 57. — CAPTAIN SHORT, RIDING INSTRUCTOR, FORT RILEY 



CHAPTER VIII 

HOW TO RIDE — THE SNAFFLE-BRIDLE — THE WALK 
AND THE TROT — SHYING — THE CUNNING OF THE 
HORSE — SULKING — REARING — DEFEATING THE 
HORSE 

Among my earliest recollections are those of a 
Shetlander, *' Billy Button," upon which I used to 
disport myself on the gravel footwalk in front of 
our house. My children, also, have been accus- 
tomed to horses from infancy. These youthful 
experiences are doubtless useful in teaching con- 
fidence and, what is of equal importance, discre- 
tion. If he is not in terror of all such animals, 
it is the inexperienced person who exhibits too 
much boldness and places himself unnecessarily 
at the heels of a horse or overrates his powers 
of control. But a boy will never learn to ride 
upon a diminutive pony or upon any dull, slow- 
moving horse; from them he does not get the 
seat that quick motions quickly give, and his 
hand will be spoiled by the hard mouth or the 
" no mouth " of a sluggish beast. 

Eight or ten years of age is as early as children 
should receive orderly lessons in horsemanship. 
It is useless to give instructions before the child 

85 



86 Riding 

is old enough to understand them or strong 
enough to carry them out. Indeed, I think 
that most riding masters would prefer taking an 
active boy of sixteen or eighteen years of age who 
had never been on a horse in place of one much 
younger who had been riding at his own sweet 
will. Aside from want of vigor, the latter 
would almost certainly have faults difficult to 
correct. 

I advocate the use of the Shetland or other 
small pony as an amusing and valuable toy for 
very young children ; but when they are old 
enough to receive instruction in riding, the pony 
should be devoted to harness, where he is really 
useful and often ornamental, and something larger 
should be procured for the rider. 

A retired polo pony, or some quick but steady 
animal of that type, is an admirable successor to 
the Shetland for a child's riding. When I was a 
boy we used to get ponies from the Indian coun- 
tr}% I think they were called Cherokees, that were 
simply perfection — pretty, nimble, and free from 
all vices. Mounted upon them, a number of boys 
would together scamper over the hills, avoiding 
the monotony of the roads, to try conclusions in 
speed, in jumping logs, low fences, and such 
obstacles, and in other exploits that gave firm 
seats and confidence. Then, sometime in the 
late '50's, Henri Franconi opened a riding-school 



How to Ride 87 

and initiated us in the manege, and we began to 
break and train horses. 

Girls should occasionally be placed upon a 
cross-saddle until they reach the age of ten or 
twelve years, so that they may learn the employ- 
ment of the aids ; but there is no more ungrace- 
ful position that a grown woman can take than to. 
mount a horse astride ; she has a far firmer seat 
in the side-saddle, and when she is a good rider 
never shows to greater advantage. 

Any man may learn to ride with safety and 
comfort at any age as long as he has the neces- 
sary activity ; and there are many men of forty, or 
even of fifty, who would be able to ward off old 
age for a long time, and have a pleasurable, whole- 
some exercise, by riding horses that do not require 
too much skill in their management. 

For one to excel in horsemanship, certain 
physical qualifications and a rare gift, aptitude 
for the art, are required. I have often heard 
William Fritz of Stuttgart say at an early lesson, 
" That boy will never make a rider," or, less 
frequently, " Ah ! here we have a good one ; " for 
that experienced teacher soon recognized the 
possession of the necessary adroitness or the 
want of it. 

But even where one has every natural advan- 
tage, he will never become a horseman without 
some instruction in the general principles of the 



88 Riding 

art. These have been formulated, after centuries 
of experiment, and it is impossible that any one 
should acquire a useful knowledge of them by his 
unaided endeavors. The worst rider who ever 
mounted a horse imitated other, and of course 
better, horsemen when he essayed to get outside 
of the animal ; but he doubtless thought that he 
was his own instructor, and it is the man of such 
reasoning powers who refuses to learn. We 
know that in the history of the world there was 
but one "natural rider," the brother of the first 
oyster-eater, who in the dawn of the quaternary 
period rode his family dinner, a broken-down, 
prehistoric horse, to his cave home. Since that 
event riding has been an art handed down by 
tradition and imitation. 

The aptitude of which I speak is indicated by 
suppleness of the body, deftness of hands and legs, 
and the faculty of obtaining an understanding 
with the horse. Rigidity in any part will prevent 
one becoming a good horseman. The aids 
(hands and heels) must be applied with celerity 
and precision, and the rider must feel what the 
horse is doing and what it purposes to do. All 
of these things demand long and carefully con- 
ducted practice, but their full acquirement is 
denied to most men; otherwise we would have 
more such masters as De Bussigny. 

From long practice in applying the aids the 



Haw to Ride 89 

thorough horseman can use hands and legs with- 
out conscious thought, and he would often find 
it difficult to say offhand what he had done 
under certain conditions. His movements be- 
come as impulsive as those of the skilled pianist, 
who methodically touches thousands of keys 
with such marvellous rapidity that it seems im- 
possible that his mind can even follow his fingers. 

The trained horse under the trained rider 
moves at the master's will ; the two are one, it is 
the centaur. The intent is one with the action, 
there is no time for consideration, thought has 
been expended in early practice and has pro- 
duced those instinctive motions of the man which 
are always right and always instantly obeyed 
instinctively. 

From the first, it should be known that riding 
is the production by the rider's heels of impulses 
which are met, governed, and directed by his 
hand. Therefore the secret of success in horse- 
manship is that the spur must always precede the 
hand, whether it be to advance, to turn, or to go 
backward. If the hand is not given impulses, it 
is powerless, and the horse is not under control. 
Whenever the word " spur " is used, it indicates 
such effect of the leg aid as the condition re- 
quires, whether it be the pressure of the calf 
against the side of the horse, the tap of the heel, 
or the prick of the sharp rowel. 



90 Riding 

The beginner should use the simple snaffle- 
bridle, for it has a much wider range of effects 
than the curb-bit, and with it he can do less 
damage to the horse and to himself when he 
hangs on to the reins to aid his seat or uses more 
force than is requisite. The instructions con- 
tained in this chapter, I should say, are primarily 
intended for the behoof of the tyro, but they 
would not be superfluous for ninety-nine hun- 
dredths of those who fancy they can ride. 

The general principles of horsemanship are so 
few and so simple that any one should readily 
master them ; afterward it is a mere matter of 
practice and aptitude. It is a matter of surprise 
that so many men ride, and yet do not think it 
worth while to investigate the principles of the 
art which they think they follow. 

The rider, having taken his position upon the 
horse, as has been described, for the seat, he will 
take a snaffle-rein in each hand, the loose ends 
toward his thumbs and held by them, the reins 
passing through the breadth of his hands, which 
are held knuckles up, close together, to assist 
each other, and take a gentle feeling upon the 
mouth of the horse. He should then quietly close 
his legs against the sides of the horse and draw 
the reins until he has collected the forces of the 
animal, so that it will be able to go forward in a 
measured pace and not in the loose and disunited 




FIG. 59.— THE SMALL PONY IS BUT A TOY 




FIG. 60. —UNTIL TEN OR TWELVE, GIRLS SHOULD 
RIDE ASTRIDE 



The Walk and the Trot 91 

condition that would ensue were it driven on 
before it had been prepared. This collection 
will be evidenced by the alertness of the impulses 
and by the movements of its muscles, as the horse 
arranges the bearers to take each its share of the 
weight. To advance at a walk the rider will in- 
crease the pressure of his legs, or give a gentle 
tap of the whip behind the girth, until he pro- 
duces the necessary impulses, which should be met 
by the hand in such a manner that the horse will 
proceed in an evenly cadenced walk. The move- 
ments of the horse are due to the changes of the 
centre of gravity produced by the impulses, and 
the legs make corresponding changes of posi- 
tion in order that they may support the mass as 
it passes over them in any direction. As the 
violence and rapidity of the changes of the 
centre of gravity increase, so does the speed and 
also the changes in the positions of the legs as 
they are required to give support. This is all 
very simple, and the rider should know at the 
start how the impulses he demands act, and how 
they may be governed. 

The lowest form of collection of the forces 
in which the horse may move in a regularly 
cadenced pace, say in the walk, the moderate 
trot, and the hand-gallop (sometimes miscalled 
the canter), is the state which we call " in hand." 
When the horse hangs upon the bridle and sham- 



92 Riding 

bles along, it is out of hand, and renewed exertion 
should be called for from the hind quarters, which 
should be met and measured by the bit. When 
the animal proceeds in free and even strides, its 
head fairly elevated, its face about perpendicular 
to the ground, and there is a light, elastic tension 
against the reins, it is " in hand," and between 
heels and hand should be kept so. 

If a horse is " out of hand," it is not only 
careless in raising its feet, but the bearers are 
not moved rapidly enough for the preservation 
of the centre of gravity, and so the animal is 
very apt to stumble and fall. When in hand, 
a horse goes as safely as is possible for that 
particular horse, action and strength being con- 
sidered. 

What has been recommended above will not 
be accomplished perfectly when the rider mounts 
a horse for the first time. It is the goal for which 
he should strive, and when he has reached it, he 
has made good progress in the art. 

It is while riding at the walk that the rider 
may best obtain the seat and that ease and 
pliancy which is so greatly to be desired. It 
also gives him a better opportunity of practis- 
ing the various applications of his hands and 
heels than would be practicable in more vigor- 
ous movements. A story is told of a certain 
master of the art, who, in reply to the question 




FIG. 61. — THE ALERTNESS OF IN HAND 




FIG. 62. — IN HAND AT THE WALK 



The Walk and the Trot 93 

how long it would take for a man to acquire a 
good seat, replied, " Fifteen years at the walk." 
If the rider pays strict attention to every detail, 
maintains, with occasional guarded relaxations, 
his position, and studies the effects of his appli- 
cation of the aids, a liberal deduction might be 
made from the above estimate of the time 
required to acquire proficiency in the most 
important feature of horsemanship. It is true 
that a man should, and probably will, learn some- 
thing nearly every time he mounts a horse, for 
"art is long," but an apt pupil should become 
a very good horseman, without confining himself 
to the walk, in two or three years, and be able 
to ride fairly in a much shorter time. 

It is not to be understood that a proficient 
should never let his horse go out of hand, for 
occasionally it will be a relief to horse and man 
to be free from all constraint; but this liberty 
should never be given to a leg-weary animal 
or upon rough or slippery ground, or in descend- 
ing steep slopes. The Italian riders, in taking 
their horses down precipitous hillsides, put the 
animals straight, the horses closely united. 

In the walk the rider will proceed in straight 
lines, in circles and curves of varying diameters, 
and in turns to either hand. The pace should 
be even and regular, and the impulses from the 
croup kept up so that the horse will not become 



94 Riding 

heavy in hand. The forehand will be kept light 
and the jaw pliant by light tensions upon the 
reins, with occasional vibrations made by a play 
of the fingers upon the reins. A very little prac- 
tice will show what these vibrations should be. 

In turning to the right the movement will be 
directed by the right rein, its effects measured 
and restrained by the left rein, while the outside or 
left leg of the rider will give an increased press- 
ure against the side of the horse to keep the 
croup from swaying out. The whole body of the 
horse should conform to the arc of the path fol- 
lowed. In making short turns, the horse should 
first be collected a little more closely, and as soon 
as the animal enters upon the new direction it 
should be put straight and be ridden in exactly 
the same form as it had before the turn was made. 
The turn to the left will be made in the same 
manner, — the left rein, guarded in its effects by 
the right, demanding the turn, the right leg of 
the rider keeping the croup upon the path. 

In bringing the horse to a halt from the Walk, 
the rider should close his legs against the animal's 
sides, lean back slightly, and raise the bridle-hand. 
This will bring the horse to a stop in a finished 
manner, with its hind legs under the mass, ready 
to furnish impulses for further movements. The 
tension upon the reins should then be relaxed 
and the legs of the rider withdrawn. 




FIG. 63. — UNITED HALT 





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FIG. 64. — IN HAND IN TROT 



The Walk and the Trot 95 

It is a rule, without exception, that when one 
rein or heel is applied, the other rein or heel must 
be prepared to guard its effects from being an- 
swered in too great a degree. 

The walk is a pace of four beats, one foot being 
planted after another at regular intervals. If the 
right fore foot comes to the ground first, it is fol- 
lowed by the left hind foot, then the left fore foot 
is planted, and lastly the right hind foot. Then 
a new stride begins. In every stride the mass is 
borne by two legs or by three legs ; just before a 
fore foot is planted, its diagonally disposed hind 
foot leaves the ground ; at that moment the two 
legs bear the weight ; when the fore foot is planted, 
three legs bear the weight. By stride we mean 
the movement that covers the ground from the 
time a certain foot comes to the ground until it 
is again planted. Through moment photography 
we have gained a knowledge, not only in every 
phase of the ordinary paces of the horse, but prac- 
tically of every movement the animal is capable 
of making ; and through the same medium I was 
able to explain, for the first time, the gallop 
changes, which very important movement was 
previously not understood, and was procured only 
by tentative experiments with each horse trained 
to make it. 

When, the horse having been in the walk, the 
speed is increased, a different movement of the 



96 Riding 

legs must take place to keep the bearers under 
the centre of gravity, and the diagonally disposed 
hind leg acts in unison with a fore leg, when we 
have a pace in which the horse springs from one 
pair of legs to the other, which gives the trot. In 
the trot we have a gait of two beats, as the horse 
takes the weight upon the right (or left) fore leg, 
and the left (or right) hind leg after each spring, 
going into the air as each pair of bearers leaves 
the ground. 

The horse should be ridden in the trot in 
exactly the same manner as in the walk, except 
that in the turns the horse should be more closely 
united between hand and heels, particularly as the 
rate of speed is increased. As far as the rapidity 
of the movement will permit, the state of collec- 
tion described as " in hand " should be observed. 
In trotting or in galloping at great speed a horse 
must extend itself too much to permit any such 
condition of its forces as that indicated ; but if at 
sharp turns the flying horse is not somewhat 
brought together, so that it may have the bearers 
under the centre of gravity, as the mass leans in- 
ward, a fall will probably result, almost certainly 
if the horse be galloping with the outside legs 
taking the advanced strides. 

But the horse should not be put into the gal- 
lop until it has been drilled in the double bridle, 
and has been taught the various forms of collec- 



Shying 97 

tion which prepare it for that pace ; and we shall 
hope that even the rapid trot will not be under- 
taken by the beginner until he is quite sure of 
himself at lower rates of speed, or he will acquire 
faults difficult to remedy. When an indifferent 
rider is in the habit of speeding a horse in the 
trot, he almost invariably takes his weight upon 
his spine, arches the body, holds his arms stiffly 
forward, loosens his knee contacts, and has about 
the same security in the saddle that a bag of 
meal laid upon it would have. 

To reduce the speed in the trot or to bring 
the horse to a halt from that pace, the rider 
should close his legs against the sides of the 
horse, lean back slightly, and, raising the hand, 
increase the tension upon the reins until the 
animal answers his demands by reduced speed. 
Then the increased tension upon the reins is 
relieved, and the legs of the rider withdrawn from 
the horse, and the slow^er trot having been ob- 
tained, the halt may be made from it; in the 
latter case the animal should be first put into 
the walk, and then brought to a stop as before 
described. 

Nearly every horse will shy if "a bit above 
himself " from want of work, and many horses, 
otherwise quiet, shy habitually at some favorite 
object, either flying paper, a high wagon, an 
automobile, or some such thing. If the head of 



98 Riding 

the horse be turned away from that which offends 
it, the animal may not only be made to pass it, 
but it will not be nearly so apt to jump down 
an embankment or run into some other danger, 
in its efforts to avoid that which caused its fright 
or pretended fright. 

Horses show much cunning in alarming a 
timid rider, and such an unfortunate is unmasked 
at once. Some horses will endeavor to rub a 
rider's knees against a wall, when they may read- 
ily be foiled by having the head drawn into the 
wall; others will misbehave on slippery pave- 
ments ; others will refuse to go in desired direc- 
tions. Indeed, their mischievous tricks are so 
various that it is impossible to name them. It 
is seldom that they even try these performances 
with a determined horseman, and I have heard 
trainers say of horses sent to them to be cured of 
vices, that they could find nothing wrong with 
the animals. 

If a horse sulks and refuses to move, sticking 
out its nose stiffly and spreading its legs as if to 
brace itself against being forced forward, the 
rider should not resort to punishment, as it is 
probable that the animal would retaliate by vio- 
lent misconduct. If the animal can be induced 
to move its croup to the right or left, the rigidity 
will disappear and the forward progress be 
obtained. I have known cases where the horse, 



Rearing 99 

under such a condition, has been made to go for- 
ward by being ridden into by another horse- 
man. 

A horse rears, either because there is too 
severe a pull upon the bit, or because it is in 
terror at something which faces it unexpectedly, 
or through an acquired vice. When a horse is 
about to rear through vice, it almost always 
*' drops the bit " (that is, the rider finds there is 
suddenly no tension upon the reins), and then 
thrusts its head in air and tries to rise upon its 
hind legs. If the rider sends in one of the spurs 
before the horse is balanced upon its haunches, 
it will induce a movement of the hind legs which 
will bring the forehand down, and the horse 
should then be pushed forward. Often a horse 
which is not very keen about it will make two or 
three weak essays before it goes quite up, and 
just as it makes one of these little rises the prick 
of the spur is very effective in bringing the an- 
imal down and in a position that prevents rearing 
until it is again prepared, before which it should 
be driven along. But if the horse has already 
risen, the rider must loosen the reins and lean 
forward ; and as soon as the forehand comes 
down, he should drive the horse forward in any 
pace or action that it will take, to procure better 
regulated movements later. If the rider finds 
by a sinking of the croup that a rearing horse 

LoiG. 



loo Riding 

is falling backward, he should release his feet 
from the stirrups, seize the mane and pommel, 
drop from the saddle, and throw himself away 
from the animal as it topples over. I have cured 
a horse, apparently confirmed in this vice of 
throwing itself backward, by a thorough course 
of suppling ; and it was afterwards ridden in 
various games and exercises which involved the 
pirouette, but the reformed animal never at- 
tempted to rise higher than was demanded. 
Whether the horse falls back intentionally or 
not I cannot say. But horses that have a habit 
of rearing so that they fall over are not rare. 
In the far West those that fight the air are called 
sunfishers, and none are more resolute or more 
dangerous. I read somewhere recently that if 
a horse kept its fore legs bent and down, it would 
not fall over, but that when its fore legs were 
extended upward and fought the air, it would 
come over on its back. I have frequently seen 
rearing horses in both poses which did not fall 
and which had no intention of falling, and I 
have had a horse throw itself over without giv- 
ing me the preliminary notice of extending its 
fore legs in air. The elder Henri Franconi's 
Johnster and Bayard, and Miss Emma Lake's 
Bonnie Scotland, were well-known examples of 
horses which reared safely with extended fore 
legs ; the other mode is not uncommon, but the 



r "r -^M rtlJ III* 





FIG. 67. — REARING WITH BENT FORE LEGS 




FIG. 68. — ROLLING UP A RESTIVE HORSE 



Defeating the Horse loi 

horse does not usually rise to a dangerous height 
while the knees are bent. 

Should a horse decline to leave its companions 
or to go in a certain direction, the rider should 
turn it around shaiply three or four times upon 
the side in which he finds least resistance, when 
the animal becomes so confused that it may be 
ridden wherever the man chooses. This in Ger- 
many is called " rolling up," and is often prac- 
tised in the cavalry, where every horse must be 
disciplined to leave the ranks singly — a very 
difficult thing to obtain in any other manner. 

I have never seen the time when a safely 
trained horse of good disposition could not be 
found after a little search ; and it is very foolish 
for any one but an expert or a professional horse- 
man to mount a wicked brute. A really vicious 
horse will try the nerve of any man, but fortu- 
nately they are not frequently met outside of the 
ranches, and they become rarer as time goes on. 
Yet all of us have seen the young person of 
limited experience, and even less skill, who 
would boast of being able to ride anything and 
was desirous of dominating a bad horse. 

Every horse that is lively enough to make a 
safe and agile riding animal will become fresh 
and disorderly if it does not get work enough. If 
it be not ridden sufficiently, it should be longed 
on the cavesson rein, or turned into a paddock. 



I02 Riding 

The most careful riding master I have ever 
known — and in my wanderings I have kept my 
horses in more than a score of riding-schools — 
was accustomed to turn his fresh horses, one by 
one, for a little time into the " ring," and, after 
some play, the horses would be perfectly quiet 
for the most timid and inexperienced pupil. 




FIG. 69.— CLOSELY UNITED 




FIG. 70. — HALF-HALT 



CHAPTER IX 

WHAT TRAINING WILL DO FOR A HORSE — THE 
FORMS OF COLLECTION 

A GREAT deal of the neglect in training horses 
properly is due to the fact that most people — by 
very far the greater number — are deterred by 
the imaginary difficulties presented by the rules 
and by the practice involved, and in consequence 
there is not one horse in a thousand that is even 
agreeable to ride. 

The fact is, there is no more difficulty in ac- 
quiring a knowledge of the rules of training than 
of the first three numbers of -the multiplication 
table ; and the practice of them is far more pleas- 
ant and a great deal easier than the daily labor 
of buttoning one's boots. 

Owing to the changes in the centre of gravity, 
due to the rider's weight and position, the normal, 
well-formed horse must be given an artificial car- 
riage to enable it to bear the man in easy, light, 
and cadenced paces. Whether the rider is aware 
of the fact or not, this correction always takes 
place, usually through tentative and chance-di- 
rected efforts, before the animal becomes safe and 

103 



I04 Riding 

pleasant to ride. Horses that are ill-formed or 
awkward may be so greatly improved in bearing 
and action, that their defects are nullified to such 
an extent that many apparently hopeless cases 
may be made very satisfactory riding animals. 
All horses are benefited in carriage, in disposi- 
tion, and in form by a course of schooling. 

What can be done to correct physical defects 
in a horse by a short term of schooling would 
appear incredible to one not initiated in the art. 
Weak parts may be strengthened, strong muscles 
may be developed from those that are deficient, 
poor action may be improved, and the general 
appearance and motions of any animal changed 
for the better by simple exercises, which at the 
same time establish absolute discipline. 

These changes are procured from suppling 
the horse. By suppling is meant overcoming 
the resistances of the horse^ whether they be ac- 
tive or passive^ intentional or physical, so that 
all opposition and rigidity are removed, and 
the animal becomes obedient and pliant in every 
part. 

If the reader will think of the forehand (con- 
trolled by the reins), and the hind quarters (con- 
trolled by his heels), as two parts to be brought 
to act together, so balanced that neither extremity 
is embarrassed, and the point of union and bal- 
ance, the centre of gravity, is directly under the 



IVhat Training will do for a Horse 105 

rider, he will see how the horse may be made to 
move lightly and easily. 

Suppose the horse be low in the forehand and 
goes too much on the shoulders when in action, 
— a miserable condition of affairs. The defects 
suggest the remedies. The hind legs will be 
carried under the body to depress the croup, the 
forehand will be raised and its forces carried to 
the rear, until the weight and forces are brought 
to the desired point of union and balance. 

Or, let us take the case of a horse high and 
strong in the forehand, but low and weak in the 
hind quarters. Here the hind legs should be 
brought up to that point where, without lowering 
the croup, they have the greatest impulsive power, 
and the forces of the forehand should be carried 
back only far enough to balance these inferior 
forces of the rear. Of course, in this case par- 
ticular attention should be paid to strengthening 
the loins and hind quarters by the exercises here- 
after to be explained. 

Therefore, if the horse "goes upon its shoul- 
ders " and hangs upon the hand, the forces of the 
croup are too strong for the forehand, and the 
latter part should be elevated while the hind legs 
should be carried under the body of the horse to 
lessen their effect sufficiently to produce balance 
in the extremities. But if there be feeble and 
constrained action in the hind legs, the forehand 



io6 Riding 

is too high and strong, and the centre of gravity 
too far to the rear, and this state must be 
remedied. 

The power to effect the conditions described 
will be obtained by subduing all resistances ; the 
jaw of the horse, and all those parts in front of 
the rider, will be made pliant and obedient to the 
reins ; the hind quarters will be dominated by the 
rider's heels. 

In the preceding chapter the condition of col- 
lection known as " in hand," the lowest form in 
which smooth, even, safe, and regular paces may 
be made, was described for the walk and the 
trot. Unless some closer form of collection is 
employed for one or another reason, the ordinary 
gallop of three beats or " hand gallop " should 
always be performed " in hand " ; that is, there 
should be such a collection of the forces that the 
pace is even, steady, and cadenced, no undue 
weight upon the shoulders, the crest curved, the 
face of the horse about perpendicular to the 
ground, the jaw supple, and as a matter of course 
the horse always under complete control. The 
trainer should ever bear in mind that whenever 
there is any disorder or misconduct the earlier 
lesson should be reverted to, until the horse is 
absolutely obedient under all conditions. When 
the horse has been habituated to maintain the 
state of collection known as " in hand," in the walk. 



The Forms of Collection 107 

trot, and gallop, it should be taught the closer 
forms of union. 

From time to time the rider should, while in a 
slow but nimble trot, bring the horse to closer 
forms of collection, the heels maintaining the 
impulses, the hand with vibratory plays upon the 
reins, keeping the forehand light and lithe. As 
the forces are more nearly brought to a point of 
union and balance under the rider, the speed will 
decrease, and when these forces of the extremities 
are absolutely united and balanced for a moment, 
the half-halt will be produced, when the horse is 
prepared for a movement in any direction. But 
this half-halt may be held for only a moment, 
while the muscles are in play, and at least one 
leg is flexed, or the horse will become heavy, the 
feet will come to the ground, and a complete halt 
will ensue, when the tension upon the reins 
should be eased and the heels be withdrawn from 
the sides of the horse. When the forces of the 
extremities of the trotting-horse are as closely 
united as is compatible with a forward movement, 
any increased impulses will be turned into height 
of action under the body, and the animal will 
seem to grow under the rider, as with curved 
crest, in which the quivering muscles prove the 
pliancy of the mass, the horse goes from one pair 
of diagonally disposed legs to the other in a slow, 
measured, brilliant trot — the most beautiful effect 
possible to obtain. 



io8 Riding 

These closer forms of collection may be pro- 
duced in a very slow gallop in exactly the same 
manner as in the slow trot ; and the gallop in this 
case becomes one of four beats as each leg follows 
the other in regular intervals. The half -halt may, 
and should in practice, be made from the slow gallop 
by a very close collection, the union and balance 
of the forces, and the gallop be renewed in some 
form immediately, before the horse becomes 
heavy and the full halt ensues. The half-halt in 
the gallop has a variety of important uses, such as 
a preliminary step for making the gallop change, 
for making the gallop wheels, etc. 




FIG. 71. — THE SCRATCH OF THE SPUR 




FIG. 72. — HALT WITH THE SPURS 



CHAPTER X 

THE SPUR 

Baucher says, somewhere, that to give an 
indifferent horseman the spur is as bad as to give 
a razor into the hands of a monkey. There is 
not one rider in ten thousand who knows how to 
give the sharp rowel, or is aware of its true uses. 
Improperly and too frequently applied, the spur 
makes the horse sluggish and never answers its 
real and full significance. The rider's leg and 
heel, or the sharp rowel when necessary — a rare 
occasion — gives the horseman control over the 
impulses which produce action, and over all the 
movements of the hind quarters. The sharp 
rowel, indeed any form of the leg aid, should 
never be given with a kick or a thrust. The 
lower part of the rider's leg should be carried 
back until the scratch or prick can be given by 
the elevation of the heel. To enable the rider to 
do this with precision requires much practice in 
the use of the leg below the knee, so that even in 
violent movements he may be able to give just 
the effect the occasion requires. The lower leg 
of the rider demands the forward movement, 

109 



I lo Riding 

demands the movement to the rear, and that to 
either side, and also the collections, including the 
half-halt and the finished halt. These results 
cannot be produced properly by a thoughtless or 
an unskilful use of an aid, which should always 
be applied at the right moment, with the right 
touch, and in the right place. 

For the comfort, not to speak of the safety, of 
its rider, every horse should be taught to bear the 
prick of the spur without violent outbursts ; and 
this is more important for the poor horseman 
than for him who is skilful. The most nervous 
animal may be taught to bear the application of 
the rowel with complacency, and without such 
discipline it would be impossible to make the 
gallop changes, and many other movements di- 
rected by the spur, smoothly and uniformly. On 
some occasion when the horse is going quietly, 
it having previously been accustomed to the 
pressure of the rider's legs and to that of the 
sides of his heels, the rider should carry a leg 
close to the flank of the horse and give a scratch 
with the rowel just behind the girths, as he is 
making a turn or demanding a bend of the croup. 
The animal should be quieted by caresses after 
this attack, and then the spur should be applied 
to the other side in the same way, and the horse 
be made much of. In time both spurs should 
be used in bringing the horse to a halt. The 



The Spur iii 

finished horseman can demand the most perfect 
repose from the most spirited horse by the use of 
this instrument. Used as directed, the animal 
will not only be steady when the scratch is given, 
but also quick and ready in obedience to the 
milder forms of the leg aid, the pressure of the 
leg or of the side of the heel, and it wall be rarely 
the case that the more severe form will be neces- 
sary. In riding my trained horses the rowels are 
removed from the spurs ; and I have had horses 
that were always free and lively in their actions 
and perfect in manege movements that had not 
felt the sharp spur for many years. Some horses 
will " shut up " and refuse to increase their speed 
when punished with the spur ; and in all cases its 
severe attacks are as useless as they are cruel. 
To produce the impulses for movements for- 
ward or to the rear, this aid should be applied 
immediately behind the girths. There is an old 
French saying that a torn girth shows good 
horsemanship. To bend the croup, as in the 
side movements upon two paths and in the gallop 
changes, the spur should take touch on the flank 
four or five inches behind the girths. 



CHAPTER XI 

SOME WORK ON FOOT — THE SUPPLING 

It has been said that the term " suppling " indi- 
cates the vanquishing of all the resistance offered 
by the horse, whether voluntary or involuntary. 
The control which this gives over the actions of 
the animal is produced by cultivating its instinc- 
tive yieldings to the application of the bit and 
spur until obedience becomes a natural impulse 
and the animal does not dream of opposition. 
The lessons are given in such a manner that 
there are no struggles against restraint, no fears 
are caused, and there are no punishments to 
arouse animosity. Indeed, any rough treatment 
will defeat the object of the trainer, who requires 
nothing more than patience to insure his success. 

For example, when the bit comes against the 
horse's mouth, the first impulse is to avoid the 
pressure and to yield the jaw ; the second impulse 
is to resist the confinement. By the cultivation 
of the first instinctive yielding of the jaws the 
trainer obtains absolute control over the mouth of 
the horse, and by successive exercises, properly 
arranged, over the whole of those parts in front 

112 




FIG. 73. — DIRECT FLEXION OF THE JAW 




FIG. 74.— THE RESULT 



Some IVork on Foot 113 

of the saddle. In like manner, when the leg or 
heel of the rider is applied to the flank of the 
horse, its first impulse is to move forward the 
hind leg of the side attacked, and bend the croup 
over to the other side; the second impulse will 
be to come against the leg or heel in resistance. 
By cultivating the first impulse on the applica- 
tion of the spur the rider obtains control over all 
those parts of the horse behind the saddle. So, be- 
tween hand and heels, the man may obtain perfect, 
because instinctive, obedience from the trained ani- 
mal. Beyond keeping on friendly terms with the 
horse, and the avoidance of everything that would 
start its fears, no trust is to be placed in the ani- 
mal's voluntary dutifulness, for what is desired 
may be demanded, and the good-will of a horse is 
a very slender reed upon which to lean. My 
horses know my footsteps, and show recognition 
of my voice, but I have never permitted their 
blandishments to lead me to trust one of them 
beyond control without finding cause for regrets 
sooner or later. 

Much of the work in suppling the horse can 
be done far more quickly with the trainer on foot 
than from the saddle. Indeed, almost all the 
education of a riding-horse might be carried on 
without the trainer mounting at all, and that very 
expeditiously; the finishing lessons under the 
saddle would be required to transfer the indica- 



114 Riding 

tions of the whip to the rider's heels. The hand- 
hng that would be given by the trainer on foot 
would prepare the horse for anything that might 
follow, and I have always found that the longer 
the horse was worked in hand, the better were 
the results. That is, if the horse be longed care- 
fully ; be driven before the trainer in a long pair 
of reins attached to a snaffle-bridle ; be taught to 
yield the jaw, the head, and the neck to the bits ; 
and be made to bend the croup and to bring the 
hind legs under the body at the application of the 
whip, there will be very little left to do when 
the man mounts. 

I shall now describe the least amount of work 
that the trainer should perform on foot, as few 
men will have the patience to carry the system 
farther ; but as the principles are always the same 
any one who desires to try the experiment may 
readily carry on the training in hand to its ut- 
most limit. 

When the young horse — or any horse, for that 
matter — is going well in the snaffle-bridle, the 
animal should be given daily lessons in the 
double bridle (curb and snaffle) in the following 
manner: the curb-chain being removed for the 
early lessons, the trainer should stand at the 
head of the horse on the right, or off, side, and 
take the right snaffle-rein in his right hand, while 
the left hand grasps the two curb-reins at equal 




FIG. 75. — BENDING HEAD AND NECK WITH CURB-BIT 




FIG. 76. — BENDING HEAD AND NECK WITH CURB-BIT 



The Suppling 115 

lengths under the chin of the horse a few inches 
from the bit. Then, extending his right arm away 
from the nose of the horse and drawing the curb- 
reins toward the chest of the animal, he will, with 
just so much force as is necessary, induce the 
horse to open the mouth and relax the lower jaw, 
the head being held up by the snaffle-rein. As 
soon as this is accomplished the tensions upon 
the reins should be released and the horse re- 
warded by caresses. The snaffle must keep the 
head of the horse at the proper height, for the 
tendency of the curb is to depress the head, and 
the face of the horse should be kept about vertical 
to the ground, certainly not any nearer the chest. 
From time to time the trainer will release the 
tension upon the snaffle-rein and draw the curb- 
reins, as before, in gentle vibrations toward the 
neck of the horse to test the progress of his work. 
When the horse curls the upper lip, and the reins 
always find nothing more than a light, elastic feel- 
ing upon the lower jaw, the crest being curved 
and the face held perpendicularly to the ground, 
the man will know that the object of his work 
has been accomplished, and it remains for him to 
maintain this condition by constant practice until 
it becomes habitual. If at any time the jaw 
becomes rigid, or there is any resistance, a return 
should be made to the exercises with the two 
bits, as in the beginning. It is a rule observed 



ii6 Riding 

by all trainers that when a horse does not per- 
form perfectly that which is desired, to " go back 
to number one," the first lesson. 

The same work should be done with the trainer 
standing on the left side of the horse, when his 
left hand will hold the left snafifle-rein, his right 
the curb-reins. These exercises, and those which 
follow, should be given at least once every day, 
twice or thrice will be better, and each exercise 
should be followed no longer than for five minutes, 
so that the horse may not be fatigued or annoyed 
by the monotony. 

Standing at the head of the horse, on the right 
side, the trainer should take a rein of the curb-bit 
in each hand, near the branches, and turning the 
bit in the mouth of the horse, right branch for- 
ward, bend the animal's head toward the left ; at 
first making a slight turn only, and by steps in- 
creasing the bend until the face of the horse looks 
to the rear. As soon as the head of the horse is 
bent sufficiently to satisfy the trainer, he should 
take equal tensions upon the bit, straighten it in 
the mouth of the horse, and by gentle vibrations 
induce the horse to yield the lower jaw so that 
the reins shall find no more than an elastic feel- 
ing upon that part as the face is turned to the 
rear. The horse must never be allowed to bring 
its head straight after this bend has been de- 
manded, but the trainer should quietly bring it 





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FIG. 77. — CARRYING HIND LEGS UNDER THE BODY 




FIG. 78. — CROUP ABOUT FOREHAND, TO THE RIGHT 



The Suppling 117 

back into the normal position by means of the 
reins. In a similar manner the head of the horse 
should be bent to the right, the trainer standing 
at the head of the horse on the left side. After 
the horse has been habituated to bend the head 
by means of the curb-bit to the right and to the 
left, its face perpendicular to the ground and its 
jaw pliant, it will be made to do the same by the 
snaffle, the reins of that bit held as were those of 
the curb-bit. 

These lessons, in addition to those recom- 
mended in Chapter II., will give the man com- 
plete control over the forehand of the horse, 
making the mouth light and compliant, and 
developing and suppling the muscles of the 
neck greatly to the improvement of the horse in 
grace and in appearance. 

Two very simple exercises will give control of 
the hind quarters, when the completion of the 
education of the horse will be a mere matter of 
repetition and riding, as the discipline necessary 
for demanding instant and exact obedience will 
have been put in train. 

To make the horse carry its hind legs under 
the body, the man should stand on its left side 
facing the saddle ; then, taking the snaffle-reins 
held under the chin of the horse at equal lengths 
in his left hand, he should give some light taps 
of a slender whip upon the animal's croup, pre- 



ii8 Riding 

venting a forwafd movement by a tension upon 
the snaffle-reins. At first the trainer should be 
satisfied when the horse brings its hind feet for- 
ward a few inches, but in time the animal should 
by gradual steps be induced to carry its hind legs 
so far under the mass that the four feet might 
stand upon a handkerchief. To transfer the in- 
dications of the whip to the heels, the rider should 
mount, and, as he taps the horse on the rump with 
the whip held behind his back, he should apply 
his heels to the animal's sides until the hind legs 
are carried forward sufficiently to satisfy his de- 
mands, while a forward movement is prohibited 
by a tension upon the snaffle-reins held in the 
left hand. Gradually the employment of the whip 
should cease and the horse be made to carry the 
hind legs under the mass to any extent by the 
pressure of the rider's heels. After the horse has 
carried its hind legs under the mass, the man 
should release the tension upon the reins, and by 
permitting the forehand to advance, let the animal 
take a natural position. 

To make the horse carry the croup around the 
forehand, the trainer should stand at the left side 
of the horse, facing the saddle, with his left hand 
he should take a grasp of the snaffle-reins under 
the chin of the horse and bend the head slightly 
away from him, and with the whip he should give 
a light tap or taps on the side of the horse just 




FIG. 79. — CROUP ABOUT FOREHAND, TO THE RIGHT 




FIG. 80. — IN HAND IN PLAGE 



The Suppling 119 

behind the girth. When the horse makes one 
step with the croup away from the man, the fore- 
hand held in place by the snaffle-reins, the whip 
taps should cease, and the horse be rewarded 
by caresses. Another step from the croup will 
then be demanded, and step by step the croup 
will be carried to the right completely about the 
stationary forehand, the left fore leg acting as the 
pivot, the right fore leg being brought forward to 
conform to the movement by light taps of the 
whip, the head of the horse bent toward the ad- 
vancing croup. The horse must not be permitted 
to volunteer a step, but every step should be made 
on the demand of the trainer. 

In the same manner the horse should be made 
to carry the croup to the left about the right fore 
leg as the pivot, the trainer holding the snaffle- 
reins in the right hand, the whip in the left, and 
standing on the right side of the horse. 

It will be well for the rider to mount the horse 
in place, at this stage, and to conduct the suppling 
and bending exercises just described, from the 
saddle. That is, from the saddle he should bend 
the head of the horse to either hand, first with 
the curb-bit and then with the snaffle-bit, bring- 
ing the head back to the normal position by 
means of the reins ; he should elevate the head, 
and then by dropping the hand and playing with 
the reins bring the face of the horse vertical to 



1 20 Riding 

the ground, with the jaw pHant in answer to 
either bit; he should induce the horse to carry 
the croup about the forehand to either side at 
the application of his heel, enforced, if necessary, 
by the whip held behind the rider's back, the 
outer fore leg acting as pivot; and, finally and 
frequently between the pressure of his legs and 
gentle vibrations of the reins, he should unite 
and balance the forces of the horse so that by the 
working of the muscles under him, as the horse 
arranges the bearers, he may know that the 
animal is ready to move in hand. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE CURB-AND-SNAFFLE BRIDLE — GUIDING BY THE 
REIN AGAINST THE NECK — CROUP ABOUT FORE- 
HAND—UPON TWO PATHS 

If but one bit is used in riding, it should be 
the snaffle, for it has a much wider range of 
effects than the curb-bit, and the latter, when 
employed alone, tends to lower the head of the 
horse, and has other defects. It is better, how- 
ever, to have both bits, as together they answer 
every requirement. With the snaffle the rider 
may raise or depress the forehand, freshen and 
relieve the mouth of the horse occasionally from 
the restraint of the curb-bit, and counteract the 
defective action of the latter, prepare the horse 
for obedience to the indications of the more 
severe mouthpiece, and give many other results 
which will show themselves in practice. The 
curb-bit gives more power to restrain the horse, 
applies the pressure of the mouthpiece upon the 
proper place, which the snaffle does not always 
do, and by it the rider may more readily keep 
the nose of the horse down so that the face 
of the animal shall be vertical and thereby insure 
the right power upon the right place. 



122 Riding 

With trained horses I seldom draw the curb- 
reins, for the animals are so drilled and so sensi- 
tive that the snaffle is nearly always sufficient 
but the curb-bit is ever ready to enforce its pecul- 
iar powers should there be failure on the part of 
the snaffle, as, for example, where the horse throws 
forward its nose so that the snaffle takes a bear- 
ing in the corners of the mouth and so loses 
much of its power. 

Ordinarily the curb-bit is used in riding, while 
the snaffle-reins lie slack, to be brought into play 
when necessary ; and most horses, and most riders, 
require the curb-bit. 

The man, having mounted, will take in his left 
hand the reins of the curb-bit divided by the little 
finger, the reins of the snaffle divided by the long 
finger, the loose ends of both pairs of reins carried 
through his hand and held by the thumb against 
the forefinger, and draw the curb-reins until he 
can feel the mouth of the horse. The right hand 
will be kept on the loose ends of the reins behind 
the left, but when it is called upon to assist the 
bridle-hand it will act upon the reins in front of 
the left hand, except in shortening the reins, when 
it will draw them through the bridle-hand from 
behind. Then, closing his legs against the ani- 
mal's sides, the rider should make gentle vibra- 
tions of the curb-reins by a play of his fingers 
until the pliant jaw and the working of the 




FIG. 81. — LEFT REIN AGAINST NECK, TO TURN 
TO THE RIGHT 




FIG. 82. — RIGHT REIN AGAINST NECK, TO TURN 
TO THE LEFT 



The Curb- and- snaffle Bridle 123 

muscles under him show that the horse is ready 
to move in hand. In this form of collection he 
should go forward in the walk. To turn to the 
right he should bend the head of the horse with 
the right snaffle-rein caught in his right hand, and 
carry the left hand in which are the curb-reins 
over to the right until the outer rein comes against 
the neck of the horse. When the turn is begun, 
he should drop the snaffle-rein, and when the new 
direction is entered upon, he should bring the 
bridle-hand in front of him, so that there shall be 
equal tensions upon both curb-reins, and resume 
a direct path. In the same manner the turn to 
the left side should be inaugurated by the left 
snaffle-rein, and the bridle-hand will be carried 
over to the left until the right curb-rein is brought 
against the right side of the neck of the horse. 
This use of the curb-reins is called the indirect 
indications of the bit. On straight lines the 
bridle-hand should be held just above the pom- 
mel of the saddle, the thumb uppermost and 
pointing toward the horse's ears. No great 
movement of the bridle-hand should be made in 
demanding the turn ; when carried over to the 
right, the thumb should point toward the rider's 
right shoulder ; when carried over to the left, the 
thumb should point toward the ground over the 
left shoulder of the horse. By observing these 
directions the rein may be brought against the 



1 24 Riding 

neck of the horse to give the indirect indications of 
the bit without too great movement of the bridle- 
hand. Gradually the employment of the direct 
snaffle-rein to inaugurate the turn will be dis- 
pensed with, and the change of direction will be 
made by the curb-reins only as they are brought 
against the neck of the horse. 

In the walk and in the slow trot the horse 
should be ridden in hand on straight paths and 
in circles of varying diameters to accustom the 
horse to that form of collection in the curb-bit; 
and from time to time closer forms of collection 
should be demanded, first in the walk and then 
in the trot, until the half-halt may be produced 
and the advance be again made before the horse 
grows heavy. Whatever the form of collection, 
the jaw of the horse must be kept pliant and the 
forces of the two extremities be kept balanced. 
If the horse hangs upon the reins, its hind legs 
must be brought under the mass to lighten the 
forehand, and every movement should be light, 
even, and regular. 

It is poor policy to put. the horse ,into the 
gallop before its education has been brought to 
the point described in the preceding pages. It 
is highly important that the horse should be 
taught a perfectly .controlled gallop, one in 
which every form of collection may be observed 
and in which the rider may demand the lead 




FIG. 83. — REVERSED PIROUETTE, TO THE LEFT 




FIG. 84. — ON TWO PATHS, TRAVERSE RIGHT 



Croup about Forehand 125 

with either side and the changes of lead with 
precision. 

The croup about the forehand, or reversed 
pirouette, prepares the horse for the movements 
on two paths, for wheels in the gallop, for the 
pirouette volte, and for the gallop changes, all 
of which are requisite in a thoroughly trained 
saddle-horse, when the rider aspires to have mas- 
tery over every movement of the animal. 

To make the horse perform the reversed pir- 
ouette, the rider should bring it in hand in place. 
Then, bending its head slightly to one side, say 
the right, he should apply his left leg to the 
flank and make the horse carry the croup to the 
right, about the left fore leg as a pivot, the bridle- 
hand keeping the forehand in place, the heel of 
the rider demanding each step, the right leg of 
the rider controlling the effects of his left leg. 
In croup about forehand to the left, the head of 
the horse should be bent slightly to the left, the 
right fore leg of the horse acts as pivot, while the 
rider's right leg induces the hind quarters to be 
carried to the left around the turning-point. 

In the work upon two paths the body of the 
horse should be placed diagonally across the line 
of progress, the forehand slightly in advance of 
the croup, the head of the horse bent in the direc- 
tion of the movement. In going to the right, the 
head of the horse will be bent to the right and the 



126 Riding 

forehand be led along one path, while the rider's 
heels carry the croup along a parallel path, the 
effects of the acting or left heel being measured 
and controlled by the rider's right heel, the fore- 
hand about two feet in advance of the croup. In 
passing upon two paths to the left, the head of 
the horse will be bent to the left, the forehand 
being led to the left, and the rider's right leg, its 
effects measured by the left, will carry the croup 
upon a parallel path, so that the body of the horse 
shall be diagonally disposed across the line of 
progress. 

In coming to a turn or on a circle, the croup 
will be slightly retarded, so that the diagonal po- 
sition shall be observed everywhere on the arc 
or the circumference, if the forehand be following 
the longer outer path. But if in turns or circles 
the croup be following the outer longer path, the 
forehand will be retarded so that everywhere on 
the arc or the circumference the diagonal position 
of the mass shall be observed. 

The horse should be ridden on two paths in 
straight lines, in turns, and in large and small 
circles, sometimes the forehand on the outer cir- 
cumferences, sometimes the croup following the 
longer paths, in the walk, in the slow trot, and in 
the united trot. 




FIG. 85. — GALLOP RIGHT, HORSE IN AIR 



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FIG. 86. — GALLOP, HIND LEGS COMMITTED TO A STRIDE 




FIG. 87. — GALLOP RIGHT, WHEN THE CHANGE BEGINS 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE GALLOP, AND THE GALLOP CHANGE — WHEEL 
IN THE' GALLOP — PIROUETTE TURN — HALT IN 
THE GALLOP 

Until the publication of " The Horse in 
Motion," many of the movements of the horse 
were but Httle understood, and of these the gal- 
lop was prominent by reason of its importance. 
In these days, thanks to the quick eye of the 
camera, there is no action which the horse is 
capable' of making that may not be clearly shown 
in every phase. 

There are several forms of the gallop, but the 
general principles are the same in all, the varia- 
tions depending upon the speed and the state of 
collection of the horse. 

In the hand-gallop of three beats the horse goes 
into air from a fore leg used as a leaping-pole ; it 
then brings to the ground the diagonally disposed 
hind leg ; the other hind leg and its diagonal fore 
leg are then planted so nearly together that the 
hoofs give the sound of but one beat; then the 
first acting fore leg comes to the ground from 
which the horse again goes into air in a new 

127 



1 28 Riding 

stride. The horse is said " to lead " with the legs 
which are advanced in each stride ; if the horse 
goes into air from the right fore leg, it is m gallop 
right, as the fore and hind legs of that side are 
advanced beyond the fore and hind legs of the 
other side. If the horse goes into air from the 
left fore leg, it will be in gallop left 

In the full-gallop, or racing pace, the secondly 
planted hind leg is brought to the ground an 
appreciable time before its diagonally disposed 
fore leg, and we have a pace of four beats. 

The canter, or lope, is a pace of feeble action 
and of low form of collection in which the diago- 
nal fore leg is brought to the ground before the 
second hind leg is planted. 

In the school-gallop, the most finished form of 
the pace, the horse is so closely united that the 
secondly planted hind leg reaches the ground 
before its diagonally disposed fore leg, and we 
have again a gallop of four beats. 

It will be seen, then, that the galloping horse 
should be in gallop right in turning to the right, 
in gallop left in turning to the left, so that a hind 
leg will be under the centre of gravity as a bearer 
of the weight when the turn is made. If a horse, 
in gallop left, be turned shortly to the right, it will 
almost invariably fall, for as the horse leans over 
at the turn there will be no support under the 
mass. A horse at liberty instinctively changes 



The Gallop, and the Gallop Changes 129 

the lead in the gallop as circumstances require ; 
but the mounted horse cannot be depended upon 
to make the change voluntarily, and the rider 
should demand the change at the proper time. 
Before the appearance of " Modern Horseman- 
ship," no one had described how the horse began 
the change in the gallop, from right to left or 
from left to right, or how it was performed. Dr. 
Stillman, the only author who had touched upon 
the subject, suggested that the horse changed the 
lead when in air, but this was a manifestly incor- 
rect supposition ; for the photographs show that 
the hind legs are always committed to a certain 
stride before the horse goes into air. By riding 
trained horses in the gallop changes before the 
camera, I discovered when those movements were 
begun and how they were made, and I was able 
to explain how the aids should be applied to pro- 
duce the changes; for previously it had been a 
matter of experiment and tentative practice with 
each horse that had been taught to make the 
gallop change. The loose explanations in the 
riding regulations of every army, and even those 
of such authorities as Baucher and others, prove 
this assertion. I am somewhat familiar with the 
writings of nearly all the authors of standard 
works on horsemanship, from the days of Grisone 
to the present day, and I cannot recall a passage 
in any one of them that would indicate a knowl- 



1 30 Riding 

edge of how the gallop change was made, or one 
that gave a rational explanation of how and why 
the aids should be applied. 

The gallop changes must have been success- 
fully demanded from time immemorial, but, as 
has been said, it was always considered a difficult 
performance to procure with certainty and pre- 
cision, and in many cases was made as a turn 
was begun, the forehand beginning the change 
which would leave the hind legs false for that 
stride. 

When the photographs proved that the hind 
legs were committed to a certain order before the 
horse left the ground in each leap, it was apparent 
that the change must take place in the hind 
quarters as soon as the legs of that part were 
free to change their order; and that the legs of 
the forehand must make a corresponding change 
when they were free, when the gallop change 
would be finished in one stride, without a false 
step. 

To make the horse change, say from gallop 
right to gallop left, in any stride, the forces must 
first be fairly united; the right heel should be 
applied when the forehand is down, and as the 
hind legs are leaving the ground; immediately 
thereafter, as the forehand is rising, the left rein 
should make a slight play which will insure the 
change in the fore legs, and the change will be 



The Galbp Changes 131 

completed without a false step and without any 
disturbance of the pace. 

The change from gallop left to gallop right 
may be demanded in a similar manner, the left 
leg of the rider and the right rein giving the 
indications. 

The gallops previously described are those in 
which the pace is true, the only forms in which 
lie ease and safety. 

If the horse be in gallop right (or left) and turns 
to the left (or right), it is false in the gallop, and 
may fall. 

If the horse has gallop right (or left) in the 
forehand and gallop left (or right) in the hind 
quarter, it is in the cross-gallop, which is wrong, 
and the error should be immediately rectified. 

To make the horse take gallop right from the 
halt, the walk, or the slow trot, the rider should 
first collect the forces of the animal, apply the 
left heel, and make a slight upward play with 
the right rein ; when given sufficient freedom, the 
horse will start off with the legs of the right side 
leading. 

Gallop left will be procured in a similar manner 
by the use of the right heel and the left rein. 

In a slow, measured, regularly cadenced pace, 
the horse should be ridden in the gallop on 
straight lines and on circles, the rider being care- 
ful that the horse is in the true gallop on the turns. 



132 Riding 

Habitually the horse should be kept in hand, 
but from time to time closer forms of union should 
be demanded, until the rider can bring the horse 
to the half-halt and resume the gallop without 
struggle or disturbance in the pace. 

In teaching the horse to change from gallop 
right (or left) to gallop left (or right) in the beat 
of the pace, the rider should put the horse in a 
slow gallop and after a while bring the animal to 
a slow trot for a few strides, and from that pace 
demand the gallop with the other side leading. 
These trotting steps will be gradually reduced 
and be replaced by the half-halt, in which the 
change should be made ; and, finally, disregard- 
ing the half-halt, the rider will be able to demand 
the change in any stride without breaking the 
cadence. 

In a slow, united gallop the horse should be 
ridden on two paths, on straight lines and on 
circles, in exactly the same manner as in the trot, 
the horse being in gallop right in passing to the 
right, in gallop left in passing to the left, the fore- 
hand slightly in advance of the croup. 

The wheel in the gallop is produced by follow- 
ing a sm.all circle on two paths, the croup toward 
the centre. When the turn is so short and the 
union so close that the inner hind leg of the horse 
remains on one spot, we have the pirouette wheel, 
— a very important movement for the mounted 



Halt in the Gallop 133 

soldier and a valuable one for many reasons to 
every horseman. 

Many forms of exercise adapted to disciplining 
the horse in various ways will suggest themselves 
to the rider. As, for example, taking gallop right 
on a straight line, bringing the horse to a half- 
halt, making a gallop wheel, then a change of lead, 
and returning over the same path in gallop left. 
Or, passing on two paths in gallop left, coming to 
a half-halt, changing lead, and going off at a right 
angle in gallop right. Or, riding in gallop to 
right (or left) on a single path on the circumference 
of a small circle and changing lead in the beat of 
the pace to go on a similar circle to the other 
hand, making a figure 8 without disturbing the 
pace. 

With a little practice the trained horse may be 
brought to make a finished halt in any stride of 
the gallop without shock or danger of injury to 
the animal. The rider, to obtain this, should 
accustom the horse to come to a halt from the 
walk, in answer to the pressure of his legs and an 
increased tension upon the reins. Then the halt 
should be demanded in the same manner from 
the trot. When the horse has been taught the 
various forms of collection in the gallop, the rider 
may bring it to a halt in that pace by leaning 
back, closing his legs against the sides of the ani- 
mal and raising the bridle-hand, at the moment 



134 Riding 

the hind legs are leaving the ground. The result 
of this employment of the aids will be to induce 
the horse to carry the hind legs simultaneously 
under the mass and so stop the advance ; and 
upon the release of the tension upon the reins the 
forehand will take a normal position and the halt 
will have been effected in one stride. This posi- 
tion of the hind legs under the body of the horse 
gives an elastic bearing that will prevent any 
shock that might injuriously affect the houghs 
of the animal. All carefully conducted training 
is assurance against strains or hurts to the horse, 
and an animal that has not been schooled is far 
more apt to slip or in some way injure itself than 
one that has been taught to perform the most 
violent movements of the manege. Of the scores 
of horses I have trained, not one ever threw a 
curb or a spavin while in my hands, and all of 
them were the better in every way for the work 
they were called upon to do. 




FIG. 90. — BACKING. THE IMPULSE 




FIG. 91. — BACKING 



CHAPTER XIV 

BACKING 

The saddle-horse should go backward in the 
walk with the same freedom and lightness as that 
with which it advances in that pace; and it 
should pass to either hand with precision, the 
spur demanding the changes of direction, the 
bits, acting like a rudder, guiding the forehand 
upon the path along which the croup moves. 

A few lessons on foot greatly facilitate the 
teaching of this movement. 

The trainer, standing at the left shoulder of the 
animal and grasping the snaffle-reins under the 
chin of the horse, should, by means of a few whip 
taps upon the rump, and the restraint of the bit, 
make a fair collection of its forces. Then, after 
the animal is standing quietly, he should renew 
the whip taps upon the rump until a hind leg is 
flexed as if for a forward movement; at this mo- 
ment the hand should draw the reins toward the 
chest of the horse so that the raised hind leg will 
take one step to the rear. The horse should be 
led forward for a few steps, and be again collected. 
In the same manner two or more steps to the rear 

135 



1 36 Riding 

should be demanded and the horse be made to 
advance while the centre of gravity is balanced 
and easily brought forward, the horse being kept 
light and the impulses alert. The steps to the 
rear will be gradually increased in number, until 
the horse will back any distance evenly and freely, 
the whip being ready to prevent too rapid a re- 
treat, and hand and whip maintaining the collec- 
tion ; but the forward movement must always be 
demanded before a complete halt is effected, and 
an impulse obtained before the horse is called 
upon to back. 

The rider should then mount and bring the 
horse in hand. By the pressure of the heels he 
should demand an impulse, and when a hind leg 
is flexed it should be carried to the rear; the 
rider's legs should then close against the sides of 
the horse, the hand give freedom, and the animal 
should be sent forward a few steps. Gradually 
the horse should be made to go to the rear for 
any distance, every step being demanded by hand 
and heels, the latter preventing too rapid or too 
irregular a movement, the hand requiring the 
raised legs to be carried back. 

To turn to the right, the left leg of the rider 
should give an increased pressure, and the right 
rein, its effects measured by the left rein, should 
give an increased tension upon the horse's jaw, so 
that the forehand will follow the croup. The 



Backing 137 

turns to the left will be made in the same man- 
ner, the right heel of the rider and the left rein 
exerting the greater influence. In going back- 
ward in the walk, the legs of the horse should 
follow in regular order, but the first step to the 
rear should be made by a hind leg, because the 
movement begins with an impulse from the croup ; 
and to insure this the animal should be collected 
before the movement is begun. The horse should 
not be permitted to become heavy, but, by de- 
manding a close collection, every step should be 
light and easy, and the balance should be such 
that the animal will be capable of going forward 
at any moment. 



CHAPTER XV 

JUMPING 

A VERY useful apparatus for teaching the horse 
to jump cleanly and willingly is a little gate or 
hurdle, about three feet wide, made with three 
bars ; the lower one fixed at eighteen inches from 
the ground to bind the uprights, which should be 
about three feet in height ; the other two bars be- 
ing removable, one to fit in slots two and a half 
feet from the ground, the other to fit on the top 
of the uprights. But of course any bar will 
answer the purpose. 

With the upper two bars removed, the hurdle 
should be placed on a bit of level ground. and the 
horse led over the lower bar two or three times, 
the trainer holding the snaffle-reins near the bit. 
When the horse has been accustomed to walk 
over the bar, the man should take the ends of the 
reins and let the horse cross in a slow trot ; this 
the animal will probably do in a leap, when the 
man should bring it to a halt and reward it with 
caresses. Then the next bar should be placed 
between the uprights, and the horse, held by the 
length of the reins, be brought up at a trot to 

138 




FIG. 92. — JUMPING IN HAND 




FIG. 93. — THE NARROW HURDLE 






FIG. 94. — JUMPING IN HAND 



Jumping 139 

jump the hurdle and rewarded for its obedience. 
After a few lessons given with the two bars, the 
third bar should be placed on the uprights and the 
horse be made to take the jump of three feet in 
the same manner, being rewarded after each leap. 

If the horse attempts to avoid the hurdle by 
running out at either side, it should be corrected 
by a harsh word and brought back to make an- 
other trial ; and if it becomes stubborn and per- 
sists in its disobedience, it should be given the 
first lesson of walking over the lowest bar. 
Whenever a horse shows a settled indisposition 
to do what is demanded, the trainer should en- 
deavor to get some little pretence of compliance 
and give up the work for the day. For if the 
horse is not in humor for the work, it is idle to 
persist. 

When the horse is jumping in hand, the trainer 
must look to it that the leaps are perfectly made ; 
that is, that the horse rises high enough in the 
forehand, and no higher than is requisite to 
enable it to clear the obstacle with the fore legs, 
and that the hind legs are gathered sufficiently 
under the body to bring them clear. 

Should the horse not bend the fore legs to his 
satisfaction, the trainer should touch the fore legs 
with the whip just below the knee as the horse 
rises; and should the horse be careless in the 
action of the hind legs, a whip stroke under the 



I40 Riding 

belly will make the animal gather the hind legs 
under its body. 

After the horse takes the hurdle with perfect 
calmness when held by the snaffle-reins, the trainer 
should accustom the animal to jump over the ob- 
stacle while on the longe-rein, the trainer being 
then twelve or fifteen feet away from the hurdle. 
Then, the horse being habituated to jump the 
narrow obstacle without reluctance, rugs, colored 
cloths, or anything of the kind that might ordina- 
rily alarm a horse should be placed, first near the 
hurdle and then upon it, as the horse jumps it at 
the length of the longe-line. 

The trainer should then mount and ride the 
horse over the bar fixed at two and a half feet. 
He should first take the horse up to the obstacle 
in a slow, collected trot, using the snaffle-reins, and 
when the horse is by its momentum committed to 
the jump, he should give it liberty to take off as it 
pleases and offer a light support as the forehand 
again comes to the ground. If the horse does 
not flex the hind legs sufficiently, a whip stroke 
behind the girths will induce it to bring the hind 
legs well under the body. But as far as is possible 
the use of whip or spur as the horse jumps should 
be avoided, and the animal should be mettlesome 
and lively when it approaches the obstacle, and 
be ready to exert itself with a will. The top bar 
should then be placed on the uprights, and the 



Jumping 141 

horse be ridden over the hurdle now three feet 
high, first in the slow trot, then from the halt, and 
finally from the slow gallop. 

In the jump from the walk, the trot, and the 
slow gallop, the rider should incline his body- 
slightly forward as the horse rises and bend his 
body back, more or less depending upon the 
height of the drop, as the forehand comes down, — 
his feet carried to the rear, so that there shall be 
no pressure against the stirrup to disturb the seat. 
Horses jump in all sorts of forms. Some horses 
do not rise until quite under the obstacle, when 
they squat down, go up almost perpendicularly, 
and drop on the other side quite as suddenly. 
Others take off at a fair distance, jump easily, and 
land steadily. The rider must be prepared, how- 
ever, to bend his body in accordance with the 
movements of the horse. 

In riding at a very high obstacle, the horse 
should be slowly collected at a moderate gallop ; 
and when the horse has faced the leap, tlie rider's 
hand should give the animal liberty to act freely, 
and as it alights he should offer some support. 

I think that nearly every work on riding warns 
the reader that one cannot raise the horse. It is 
true that in the state of collection in which most 
horses are ridden it would take a block and tackle 
to bring up the forehand ; but what shall we call 
the pirouette, the curvet, the pesade, or even the 



142 Riding 

support the rider gives the stumbling horse so 
that a leg may be put under the falling animal, 
but a raising of the forehand ? 

In jumping, however, the rider must not at- 

' tempt to lift the horse ; he must trust to the 

instincts of the animal necessary to clear the 

obstacle and for the disposition of its bearers to 

secure safety in landing. 

After facing the horse to the jump, the rider 
should give the animal freedom of action, not by 
making such a change on the tension of the reins 
as might bring the animal down, but by giving 
his arms such play that the horse may extend 
itself. When the animal alights, it must find 
some support from the bit, so that in case of 
a peck or of a stumble the forehand can rise 
until a bearer comes under the centre of gravity 
and saves a fall. The bending back of the rider's 
body as the forehand reaches the ground is, of 
course, of great assistance in recovering from a 
misstep. 

In taking low jumps at a racing pace, the rider 
need not lean back as the horse alights, for the 
momentum is so great that no change in the body 
of the rider is required. 

Sometimes, even under such circumstances, the 
expected consequences do not follow a mistake, 
and it is astonishing to see how a flying horse, 
encumbered by a man upon its shoulders, may 



Jumping 143 

recover from a stumble. But hurdle-racing is 
poor sport, neither jumping nor racing. 

When the horse will leap the hurdle willingly 
and perfectly, it should be taken into the fields 
and put over fences, ditches, and streams. Most 
horses are at first timid in facing water, but with 
a little care a horse may be made to attempt any 
obstacle that is offered. In riding at broad water 
or at any wide jump, the rider should sit down in 
his saddle and send the horse forward in a good 
pace so that the momentum will carry the mass 
over. 

In Great Britain and in Ireland, in those coun- 
tries where banks are sometimes the boundaries 
of fields, the horses are taught, usually by easy 
lessons in the cavesson or by being driven before 
the trainer in long reins, to leap upon the top of 
the bank and from thence across the ditch. The 
dexterity and cleverness with which these ani- 
mals will poise themselves on the top of a slip- 
pery bank, and the security with which they 
will leap from such insecure footing, are things 
to be wondered at. 

We are told that some hunters are taught to 
drive themselves forward by kicking back at a 
stone wall. I do not dispute this, but I can say 
that I have seen scores of hunters going over 
such obstacles, and any displacement of stones 
or striking of the walls was manifestly accidental ; 



144 Riding 

and that from a study of the actions of the horse, 
the kick, while in air, would in most instances 
result in disaster, for both fore legs and hind legs 
would be extended at the same time. I have had 
horses kick out when jumping on the longe, but 
the forehand would then be on the ground, and 
a kick given at such a time would not benefit the 
jump. The books say that in the capriole the 
kick to the rear is given when the horse is in air, 
but the photographs prove that it is given after 
the horse alights. 

In jumping for practice, 4 feet or 4 feet 6 inches 
should be high enough. Most horses enjoy jump- 
ing, but they should not be asked to do too much, 
for they readily take a dislike to the sport. A 
horse should never be punished as it is about to 
make a jump ; the rider should sit quite still, and 
he should avoid raising an arm as the horse goes 
into air, as so many men do, for the motion will 
distract the attention of the horse at a critical 
moment. 

The standard of jumping has gone up so much 
in recent years that one hesitates to say where the 
limit will be found. A friend of mine has kindly 
offered me a moment photograph of a horse of 
four years of age passing over the extraordinary 
height of seven feet one and three-quarters inches 

(/If"). 

I once asked a professional rider of long expe- 



Jumping 145 

rience, the son of a professional rider, what advice 
he would give regarding a fall from or with the 
horse. He said that in falling he always bent his 
chin toward his chest to save the neck, and made 
himself as like a ball as possible. To this I will 
add that the man should retain the reins in case 
of a fall until he knows that he is free from the 
stirrups. 

Horses used for jumping should have strong 
hind quarters, sloping shoulders, and good fore 
legs. 

It must be admitted that some of the finest 
performers over high jumps have upright shoul- 
ders, but the horses are good in spite of the 
defect; and on the steeplechase course we often 
see broken-down blood-horses come on as win- 
ners, but these animals are none the better for 
their injuries, and are certainly dangerous to 
ride. 

When a woman rides at obstacles, her line 
should be on an arc to the right rather than 
to the left, so that if the horse falls she will be 
on top of the animal and not pinned beneath it. 

The design in giving the early lessons in 
jumping over the narrow hurdle is to habituate 
the horse to take what is offered it without run- 
ning out, for when it has been disciplined to leap 
an obstacle that could readily be avoided, it will 
not look for means of escape when brought to 



146 Riding 

face other objects. My horses will cross over 
doubles, in and out, the reins hanging upon 
their necks, and the obstacles no more than 
two feet in width. In fine, a well-trained horse 
will jump anything within its powers without 
urging and in the safest manner. 



CHAPTER XVI 

GENERAL REMARKS 

I AM convinced that nothing has been recom- 
mended in this work that is not absolutely 
requisite in the proper training of the saddle- 
horse; for the same general principles are ob- 
served in what are considered the simplest 
permissible military methods, although they are 
not always attempted in the manner I have 
followed. But even admitting that some of the 
work is useful only for its discipline, to which I 
do not consent, that would in itself be a sufficient 
reason for retaining it. 

I have been told very frequently, by readers, 
that they have had no difficulty in understanding 
the instructions I have offered, and I know that 
they should be easily carried out, seeing that even 
now I train my own horses without assistance. 

It is advisable for the man who wishes to train 
his own horse during rough weather, to have it 
ready for the pleasant season, to keep the animal 
in some public riding-school, where he will have 
the use of " the ring," until his work is finished, 
unless, what is better, he has some barn or 

147 



148 Riding 

other covered area where he may carry on its 
education in spite of frosts and storms. It is 
important that, once the work is begun, there 
should be no interruption ; and in our climate I 
should say that April is the best month in which 
to begin with a young horse in the open. Dur- 
ing the summer, the flies are so annoying that it 
is difficult to keep the attention of the animal; 
and neither man nor horse is fitted in the ex- 
tremely cold weather of winter for the work of 
training. 

Too much stress cannot be laid upon the 
importance of sufficient and frequent exercise for 
the avoidance of that nervous and excitable con- 
dition in the horse known as "freshness." Of 
course, a horse that has been thoroughly disci- 
plined is much more readily brought under con- 
trol than a young animal that has not yet been 
taught to obey hand and heel instinctively, but 
even the old, well-drilled horse may lose much of its 
training if it be not very carefully handled after a 
long rest with high feeding, and it is far better to 
run no risk of insubordination. The fresh horse 
may be considered as hysterical and sometimes 
temporarily mad ; even those which are most 
docile when in proper work become flighty with 
" stall-courage," and may bite, kick, or plunge 
when first brought into the open air after some 
days of idleness. These freaks do not indicate a 



General Remarks 149 

vicious disposition, but vice may grow out of 
them through injudicious treatment. Longeing 
on the cavesson, a run in the paddock, or a brisk 
trot under the saddle will soon relieve this con- 
dition, but when the fresh horse is ridden, it should 
not be called upon for anything beyond a good, 
steady pace until it becomes composed. 

Some jealous-minded horses are easily spoiled 
by petting, and from too frequent indulgences at 
improper times in sugar and in such dainties, and 
show a nasty temper when disappointed in their 
expectations. These animals should be treated 
with uniform kindness, but should not be taught 
to look for such favors every time the rider dis- 
mounts or approaches. At regular feeding times 
the one who is to ride the horse may give it an 
occasional treat, never when the animal is bridled, 
for the bit must always be clean and smooth. 
A kind word or a caress is sufficient reward for 
good behavior, and a harsh word is the most 
effective correction that can be given. The whip 
and the spur must be employed to enforce 
demands, but these instruments should be used 
promptly and for reasons, never for punishment. 
For example, if a horse hangs back, or shows a 
disinclination to pass an object, a smart rap of the 
rod will usually send it along ; but if there is a 
positive refusal, repeated applications of the whip 
or spur will work great harm, and the rider should 



1 50 Riding 

obtain the desired obedience by some ruse which 
will have a lasting good effect upon the animal. 

A moment's reflection should show the reader 
that a " combined horse " (that is, one suited for 
harness and riding) is an anomaly, for the first 
requisite in a saddle-horse is that it should have 
a carriage that is inconsistent with that to which 
it is accustomed in drawing loads. There would 
be no great harm in putting a young horse in 
light harness for a short time to steady it, but 
after its training for the saddle has been under- 
taken it should never bear a collar. A horse that 
is habituated to harness cannot have light and 
balanced action under the rider. The animal 
that is taught to throw its weight against the 
traces will travel upon its shoulders and be apt 
to trip when the weight of a man augments the 
defects of that mode of moving. The day before 
this page was written a friend of the author 
remarked that a " combined horse " which had 
never made a mistake in harness had just given 
him a fall ; and a great number of such instances 
might be cited. A poor rider may throw any 
horse, and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred a 
fall is the fault of the rider, but it requires a good 
and careful horseman to keep old Dobbin on his 
feet when the animal is taken out of the shafts 
and put under the saddle. 

The only certain method of correcting the 




FIG. 97. — HURDLE-RACING 




FIG. 98. —HIGH JUMPING. MR. ASHBROOK'S THISTLEDOWN 



General Remarks 151 

faults of a spoiled horse is to retrain the animal 
from the very first lessons in the cavesson. In 
this manner discipline may be reestablished, but 
the animal will nearly always be disposed to 
revert to old tricks, particularly so if it remains in 
the hands of him who has permitted the liberties 
which grew into vice. Some horses are ever on 
the lookout for opportunities of taking advantage 
of a timid or irresolute rider, and such are out of 
place with him who lacks nerve, and should be 
turned over to better horsemen. When faults are 
due to incurable physical or mental defects, it is 
useless to attempt to remedy them. That much 
may be done by skilful work to render such 
animals less dangerous is true, but the game is 
not worth the candle. A horse that is ground- 
shy, that is, one which sees objects at its feet in a 
distorted form, or that is subject to fits of terror 
or excitement, is not suited to the saddle. On 
the other hand, it will not be difficult to find 
horses that will prove perfectly tractable and 
steady as long as they have regular work. For 
years I made a study of the vices of the horse by 
taking such as had proved troublesome to see 
what could be done in the way of correcting 
various faults. From my experience I think it 
may be said that all horses are amenable to 
discipline except those that are foolish or of 
such nervous conditions that they are in effect 



152 Riding 

unmanageable. The bolter was stopped by the 
spurs ; the rearing horse was cured by suppling ; 
the restive horse was confused and conquered ; 
the bully yielded to bullying ; but the fool horse 
took no degree. 

The growing fancy for saddle-horses of large 
size, because, perhaps, they are more effective to 
the eye, is an evil, for breeders will undertake to 
furnish such animals as are in demand at the 
expense of far more valuable qualities, and the 
rearing of medium-sized, active horses will be 
largely discontinued, for the market rules the 
stock farm. It is the experience of all horsemen 
that 1 5 J hands is the limit of height for a perfect 
saddle-horse, except under very exceptional circum- 
stances. When the would-be seller of a leggy 
horse asserts that " it rides like a pony," he 
recognizes the general superiority of the smaller 
animal and probably is in error regarding his own. 
As a rule, a horse under 1 5 J is more active, hardier, 
and with greater stamina than one above that 
height. It is quality that gives value to the 
horse, and this is usually found to deteriorate in 
those of excessive bulk. Did not Dickens remark 
that giants are weak in the knees .? 

In a previous chapter I have said that casting a 
horse by the so-called Rarey system is not a sover- 
eign cure for all vices, and that I usually taught my 
horses to lie down without using any apparatus. 



General Remarks 153 

When a horse is so vicious that a man may not 
approach him without being attacked, some 
artificial restraint must be resorted to and straps 
used to confine and throw the horse. But with 
steady horses there are several modes for casting 
them without the employment of anything beyond 
the snaffie-bridle. Of course, it is not necessary 
for an ordinary saddle-horse to be taught to lie 
down, but a good horseman should know how to 
demand anything, and a little superfluous knowl- 
edge may be handed over to some one who may 
have use for it. 

A very easy way of casting a horse is for the 
man to stand on the off or right side of the animal 
and pick up its right fore leg in his left hand ; this 
he will carry back and at the same time draw the 
snaffle-reins, held in the right hand, to the rear, 
until the horse comes down upon the knee of the 
right fore leg ; a pull upon the left snaffle-rein 
will then bring the horse over on its right side. 
After some lessons given in this manner, the horse 
will carry back the right fore leg at the application 
of the whip and be brought to the ground by the 
same use of the snaffle-reins as above described. 
After a few such lessons the rider should get into 
the saddle, and between the taps of the whip on 
the right shoulder and bending the head of the 
horse sharply to the left he can bring the horse to 
ground while he is mounted. 



154 'Riding 

It is better for the trainer to avoid working the 
young horse when exposed to high winds, as the 
animal is then so disturbed and easily irritated that 
it is difficult to engage its attention, and good 
progress can hardly be obtained. If on any 
occasion the young horse persists in refusing 
obedience, the trainer will do well to obtain some- 
thing resembling discipline and return the horse 
to the stable rather than enter into a contest which 
may be the source of much future trouble. Of 
course, if an old horse is mutinous, it should be at 
once controlled and brought to reason ; but except 
an occasional lark due to excessive high spirits 
from want of work, a trained horse will not often 
be guilty of misconduct, and even then it may be 
checked by hand and heel. 

No one should ride a horse that has the habit 
of stumbling, but sometimes the most agile of 
animals will step on a rolling stone or make a 
mistake through carelessness. When a good 
horse trips and falls, the rider is almost always in 
fault ; in the first place, for letting the horse grow 
careless, and secondly, for permitting the animal 
to go down. An active horse should never stumble 
badly when ridden in hand; and if the rider leans 
back and supports the forehand until a bearer is 
carried under the centre of gravity, it is seldom 
that the horse will fall. Many falls are occasioned 
by the horse being leg weary through overwork 




FIG. 99. — RACKING 




FIG. 100. — RUNNING WALK 




FIG. 101. — CASTING A HORSE 



General Remarks 155 

or from being ridden too rapidly at turns ; so that, 
however the mark comes, a broken knee is taken 
as a sign of poor or careless riding. 

Doubtless, instruction was given in the art of 
riding by amateurs or by professed teachers, from 
the time the horse came into use. The earliest 
existing work on horsemanship is that of Xeno- 
phon (born 430 b.c.) ; then there is a hiatus until 
the Italian Renaissance, since which epoch we 
have had many works on the subject; but before 
Xenophon's time, and between that and the ap- 
pearance of Grisone's printed work in 1550 (my 
copy, apparently a first edition, was dated 1560), 
we may be sure that there was no lack of writings 
upon the subject, lost through the perishable 
nature of the form in which an author's labors 
were presented. Of the early works of this sec- 
ond appearance the best known are those of An- 
toine de Pluvinel, equerry to Louis XIII. of 
France, — a splendid effort, published in Paris in 
1619, — and that of the Duke of Newcastle, pub- 
lished in Antwerp in 1651. But none of the 
works on horsemanship which appeared pre- 
viously to that of Baucher are now of any real 
value, and the method described by the French 
master is the foundation of all that is good in any 
modern system. 



DRIVING 

HINTS ON THE HISTORY, HOUSING, HARNESSING 
AND HANDLING OF THE HORSE 

By price collier 



lUi ardua cervix, 
Argutumque caput, brevis alvus, obesaque terga, 
Luxuriatque toris animosum pectus. 



INTRODUCTION 



INTRODUCTION 

All games, pastimes, and sports worthy of the 
name are artificial work. What our ancestors 
did because they must to Hve, we do because we 
find that vigorous use of our powers, physical, 
mental, and moral, makes living more agreeable. 

They rode and shot and fished, walked, ran, 
carried heavy weights, chopped down trees, pad- 
dled canoes, sailed boats, fought wild beasts, 
hunted game for food, and drove oxen, mules, 
and horses because they had to do these things 
to live. 

We do many of these same things. We chop 
down trees, paddle canoes, sail boats, run, jump, 
struggle against one another with the gloves or 
at football, swim, play golf and tennis, ride and 
drive, but we call it sport ! In reality it is arti- 
ficial work. 

Because the environment has changed, and we 
are no longer forced to do these things for a 
living and to live at all, we now do them to 
make our own living more wholesome and agree- 
able, and call these pursuits sports. 

Either because human life originally was safest 
to those who were most formidable at work and 



Introduction 

at war, or because we are so constituted that we 
cannot live without exercise, we still continue the 
physical exertions of our forebears under the name 
of sport. 

The quality and the value of all games and 
sports may be tested and graded as to their 
respective value according as they develop in 
their patrons the qualities that hard work de- 
velops. Health, courage, serenity of spirit, good 
manners, good nerves, tenacity of purpose, physi- 
cal strength, were the reward of the hard worker. 
Those same qualities ought to be the aim of the 
good sportsman. The moment trickery, effemi- 
nacy, babyism, and unfair play become a part of 
sport, the whole object of sport, its raison d'etre, 
vanishes. 

Sport, therefore, has ample excuse for being, 
and deserves the support of all serious well- 
wishers of their fellow-men to keep it clean. 

The more seriously, then, sport is undertaken, 
— the more nearly it resembles work, in short, — 
the more completely it accomplishes its purpose. 
It goes without saying that when sport absorbs 
the whole man it defeats its own aim, since it is 
intended merely to supplement by artifice what 
has been lost by the changes in man's environ- 
ment. Now that shooting, fishing, sailing, spar- 
ring, riding, driving, are not necessities, we wish 
to retain still the good results of them for men 



Introduction 

doomed by the rearrangement of life to live more 
or less sedentary lives. 

Hence it is that books are written on these 
subjects, that men may take them up seriously, 
study them, use their heads at them, and thus 
get the best there is out of them. The men who 
are best worth preserving are just the men who 
will give but a half-hearted allegiance to any- 
thing, unless it asks much of them and makes 
large drafts upon their mental, moral, and physi- 
cal energy. 

To discover to man or boy, therefore, how 
much there is of training for his mind and his 
body in any form of sport is well worth while. 
The more clear it is that a sport or game re- 
quires knowledge, patience, courage, tact, and 
endurance, all of which make for success in 
everyday life, the more likely it is that it will 
become popular among sturdy men. 

The best of our sports and games are, as we 
should expect, the most difficult, and require the 
most complete development in their patrons. 
Chess, whist, cricket, golf, fencing, sparring, rid- 
ing across country, hunting, fishing, have kept 
their place, not because they are easy, but be- 
cause they are hard. All these games have been 
played for centuries, while the more childish pas- 
times and sports come and go, and ping-pong 
their way to an early oblivion. The subject of 



Introduction 

this book, the horse and how to handle him in 
harness, has not only the advantage of a sport 
requiring much knowledge, and good physical 
ability, and great moral self-control, but it has 
the further very great advantage of teaching all 
who take part in it something of what is due to 
the welfare of the most useful animal in the 
world. This sport not only develops its patron, 
but in so doing makes for the development 
and better care of the most valuable helpmeet 
man has. 

It is absurd to suppose that a man can be 
taught to drive without knowing something of 
the elementary things about the horse. He may 
be put upon the box, the reins placed in his 
hands, and certain cut-and-dried instructions given 
him about stopping, starting, and turning; but 
before he has driven five miles fifty things will 
occur to him that he will wish to know about. 
A child with a box of colors and some sketches 
in outline can be told to paint this part red, that 
part blue, that white, the other green, and so on, 
and there follows a picture of a kind. But the 
painter knows how and why the colors are mixed, 
and could never be more than an automaton if 
he did not study these things for himself. A 
man on a box-seat with four reins in his hand, 
who does not know how the horses in front of 
him are housed, fed, shod, harnessed, and bitted, 



Introduction 

and how by evolution they came to be what they 
are physically and mentally, and the relative posi- 
tions of their vital organs and the bones of their 
skeletons, is not and will not be a coachman of 
any competency until he knows something of 
these things. No man can bit a horse who 
knows nothing of the inside of a horse's mouth; 
nor can he fit him properly with his collar unless 
he knows the relative positions of the shoulder- 
blade and humerus; nor can he see that his 
shoes are put on to fit him unless he knows 
something of the formation of his foot; nor can 
he spare him fatigue and help him through his 
simpler troubles on the road, or in the stable, 
unless he knows something of the horse's physi- 
cal make-up and the weak and strong points 
of him. 

It is a great sport, is driving, and superior to 
all other sports in one respect at least, in that 
it is the most useful of sports. Any improve- 
ment in the art of driving actually adds to the 
wealth of the world {vide chapter on the Eco- 
nomic Value of the Horse). 

In this book we have begun at the beginning, 
and the proper title of the book would be. Hints 
on the History, Housing, Harnessing, and Hand- 
ling of the Horse. Each one of these subjects 
would require a volume, and volumes indeed 
have been written. A complete bibliography of 



Introduction 

horse literature would number well on toward 
three thousand volumes. 

In this small volume it is intended to suggest 
to horse owners the necessary lines of knowl- 
edge, with something more than the elements 
of each. The bibliography at the end of the 
volume offers the opportunity to go more deeply 
into any or all of these departments as taste, 
fancy, or love of the sport may dictate. No one 
volume can do more than this, and to each indi- 
vidual is given the opportunity to discover what 
he ought to know, and the opportunity to sup- 
plement his knowledge according to his par- 
ticular requirements. 

For suggestions, good counsel, and valuable 
information I am indebted to many. Among 
them I must mention here R. W. Rives, Esq. ; 
Frank K. Sturgis, Esq.; Professor Henry F. Os- 
born, of the Natural History Museum ; William 
Pollock, Esq. ; Theodore Frelinghuysen, Esq., 
Captain Pirie, and Fownes of London ; Howlett 
pere of Paris, and his son Morris Howlett, now 
of New York ; T. Suffern Tailer, Esq., late presi- 
dent of the New York Tandem Club ; and others. 
They will, I trust, forgive my errors, and take 
to themselves, as they deserve to do, the credit 
for such value as this small volume has, in add- 
ing to the comfort of drivers and the welfare of 
the horse. 



DRIVING 



CHAPTER I 

ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE HORSE 

In dealing with the horse as a source of national 
income, or as an opportunity for sport and pleas- 
ure, there is little to be taught Americans along 
the lines of harness-making, carriage-building, and 
other mechanical appliances for the comfort and 
best use of the animal. But both owners of horses 
and their care-takers are often lamentably ignorant 
of the general history of the horse. 

If one is to get most value out of the horse on 
the farm, as a draught animal in city streets, or 
on the road, in harness or under saddle, some 
knowledge of his past history and present value 
cannot be out of place. The harness, the bit, the 
vehicle, may be right, but the head, hands, heart, 
and temper of the coachman may be wrong. To 
know how the horse came to be what he is, and to 
know something of the kind of a machine that 
he now is, will do much to explain his vagaries, 
and even more to make his owner and user more 

IS9 



i6o Driving 

patient, more gentle, and more intelligent in 
handling him. 

You do not expect poetry from a black- 
smith, nor a fourteen-inch forearm on a poet. 
You deal with men the more comfortably the 
more you know of their antecedents and training. 
The same is even more true of this subject of 
horses. It is not necessary that a man should 
be an experienced navigator or an off-shore sailor 
to enjoy a yacht ; but on the other hand there is 
no question but that the man who knows most 
of these matters gets the most enjoyment out of 
his boat. It is not necessary to write books in 
order to enjoy them ; but the practice of writing 
adds an hundred fold to the enjoyment of other 
men's books. 

It is not necessary that a man should be an 
accomplished palaeontologist, and an experienced 
veterinary, in order that he may take pleasure in 
his stable; but some knowledge of these matters 
adds greatly to one's understanding of the proper 
treatment of horses, and greatly, too, to one's stock 
of patience in dealing with their eccentricities and 
obstinacies. " Mad men and mad horses never 
will agree together." 

The horse is not an intelligent animal as a 
rule. He is the only animal that loses its head 
to the point of its own extermination when not 
restrained and controlled. He has no affectionate 



Economic Value of the Horse i6i 

recognition of even his best friends. Your dog 
twists himself into extravagant physical contor- 
tions when you return after a month's absence ; 
your horse, on the other hand, is no more warm in 
his welcome than your saddle. He is, now that 
he has been so long guarded and cared for by 
man, a pitiably helpless animal when left to him- 
self. The mere fact that the reins lie on the dash- 
board, that he hears no voice behind him, that he 
is free, sends him off at a gallop — possibly to his 
own destruction.^ 

A certain politician from Tennessee, in describ- 
ing a particularly erratic party leader, said that he 
reminded him of a horse sold to a friend of his. 
Many questions were asked concerning the horse, 
and finally the seller was asked about his gaits. 
After some hesitation he finally drawled, " Well, 
I guess his natural gait is running away ! " 

This is true of practically all horses, and it is 
because he is so well known to man and so useful 
to man, and because he is amongst the animals 
the greatest pleasure giver to man, that some 
knowledge of his ancient and modern antece- 
dents and training is desirable. 

^ The average number of times the brain is heavier than the 
spinal cord, which is a fair measure of intelligence in certain animals, 
is as follows : — 

In man . . . 33.00 



I ft dog . . . .5.14 
In cat . . . . 3.75 
In ass .... 2.40 

M 



In pig . ... . 2.30 
In horse . . . .2.27 
In ox . . . . 2.18 



1 62 Driving 

America is the home of the horse in more 
senses than one. We have more money invested 
in horse-flesh than any other country in the world. 
A very conservative estimate of the value of 
the horses in this country is something over 
;^ 1, 050,969,093. 

Scientific men tell us, too, that the first horses 
were natives of this country. The prehistoric 
horse of America probably wandered across Beh- 
ring's Strait to Europe, Africa, and Asia at a 
time when that passage was dry land. Though 
the earliest travellers to, and the first settlers in, 
America found no horses here, there is no doubt 
that the horse originated on this continent. Why 
the horse disappeared entirely from this continent 
for a long period of time, while flourishing partic- 
ularly in Africa and Asia as well as in Europe, is 
one of the mysteries that science has not explained. 
Whether the ice age destroyed them, or a plague 
or flood swept them away no one knows. Two 
facts are well known : the first is that the oldest 
remains of the horse are found in this country ; 
the second is that when Columbus touched at 
what is now San Domingo in 1493 he brought 
with him horses, animals that for thousands of 
years had not been seen here. 

In four hundred years we have become the 
largest owners and users of horses in the world. 

Our agricultural supremacy is due in great 



Economic Value of the Horse 



163 



part to our use of horse-power in our fields and 
farms. Our superiority in this respect may be 
seen at a glance by a comparison of the number 
of horses in the leading European countries and 
our own. It is to be noted that in many cases 
these figures comprise, not merely the number of 
horses on farms, but the total number in the coun- 
try. For the United States the number given is 
for horses on farms only. 





Country 


Date 


Number 


Great Britain 


I90I 


i,S"43i 


Ireland 












I90I 


491,380 


British India 












1900 


1,343,880 


Australia . 












1900 


1,922,522 


Argentine Republic 












I goo 


4,447,000 


Austria 












1899 


1,711,077 


Hungary . 












1895 


2,308,457 


France 












1900 


2,903,063 


Germany . 












1900 


4,184,099 


Italy . 












1890 


702,390 


Japan 












1900 


1,547,160 


Russia, including Siberia 










1898 


25,354,000 


United States . 










1900 


21,216,888 



Iowa, Illinois, and Texas have each almost as 
many horses as Great Britain, and these three 
states alone have more horses between them than 
any foreign country except Russia. 

These figures do not include the mules which 
are more extensively used here than in any other 



1 64 Driving 

country. Including, with the horses, mules, and 
asses on farms, those not on farms, it is probable 
that the United States has more work animals 
than even the Russian Empire, Siberia included, 
with a population exceeding that of the United 
States by many millions. 

The horse-power, including mules, on American 
farms is at least six times that of Germany ; twelve 
times that of Great Britain and Ireland ; eight 
times that of France ; thirty times that of Italy ; 
and six times that of Austria and Hungary com- 
bined. This difference in horse-power on Ameri- 
can farms gives us a great advantage over other 
countries — so great an advantage indeed that our 
competition affects land values in Europe, and is 
gradually forcing a readjustment of the industries 
of the world. It is estimated that we have invested 
in horse-flesh in this country $1,050,969,093. In 
1901 we exported 82,250 horses, while in 1891 we 
exported only 3 no, and the number of horses 
increased from 4,337,000 in 1850 to 16,965,000 in 
1900. Since 1850 the number of farms has in- 
creased 296.1 per cent; acres of improved land 
267.0 per cent; and of horses 291.2 per cent, 
which seems to show that despite the increased 
use of machinery the horse is still a necessity in 
agriculture. 

What could be gained economically by the in- 
telligent breaking, breeding, shoeing, feeding, har- 



Economic Value of the Horse 165 

nessing, bitting, driving, and handling of horses in 
this country is not easily calculable. The differ- 
ence in the amount of work one horse can do when 
he is properly stabled, fed, harnessed, and driven, 
multiplied by millions, gives one some idea of 
the economic utility of such knowledge. It is 
well known that good roads add enormously to 
the availability of agricultural land and has a 
notable effect upon the cheapening of farm prod- 
ucts. The first men to agitate for good roads, and 
they who do most to see that good roads are pro- 
vided, are the users of horses. One might indeed 
write a telling chapter of eulogy on the horse, if 
one gave him the credit due him, for bringing 
about the cheapening of products necessary to the 
comfort and pleasure of mankind. 

This whole subject of the care of the horse 
takes on a new aspect when it is looked at with 
these figures in mind. Books on driving, riding, 
and the like should be classed, not merely with 
books of sport and pleasure, but with scientific 
and economic treatises. 

We are a nation with over a billion dollars in- 
vested in equine machinery. It is an absurd mis- 
understanding of the subject to look upon the 
time, money, and intelligence devoted to the driv- 
ing, bitting, and harnessing of horses as so much 
time, money, and intelligence devoted to a sport 
of the rich and fashionable. If we had a steel 



1 66 Driving 

plant, or a coal company with $100,000,000 in- 
vested therein, no investigation would be too 
minute, no saving of labor here, no improvement 
there, and no supervision would seem out of place 
in adding to the economy and efficiency of such 
an aggregation of capital. The man who can bit, 
harness, and drive four horses, or two horses, com- 
fortably to himself, and to his horses, is adding 
just so much to the understanding of a subject 
which is of practical bread-and-butter interest to 
every man, woman, and child in the United States. 
Every ounce more of work that a horse can be 
harnessed to do, every practical hint that the 
master of horses can be induced to apply, every 
yard of road that can be improved, take something 
off the cost of everything we eat, drink, or wear. 
To put a coach on the road for a few weeks in the 
spring, to turn out a well-mannered pair for a lady's 
phaeton, to temper the disposition of two horses 
so that they bowl along pleasantly in a tandem, 
may at the first blush seem to be merely the idle 
vagaries of the unemployed rich. As a matter of 
fact, the knowledge and patience required in these 
exercises percolates through all classes of horse 
owners, and produces a marked effect from the 
utilitarian standpoint. We of the large cities, 
with steam and electricity as our daily servants of 
locomotion, ignore the twenty odd million agricul- 
tural machines in this country that are helping to 




PLATE I. — PROTOROHIPPUS 

Earliest known species of horse, eleven inches high, with four complete toes, 
and remainder of fifth on fore feet, and three on hind feet 




if y IV' 
III III III III III 

PLATE IL — DEVELOPMENT OF HORSE'S FOOT FROM 
FIVE TOES TO ONE 



Economic Value of the Horse 167 

feed and clothe us, and get to look upon the 
horse as merely the fashionable physician's pre- 
scription for the liver, under saddle ; or a fashion- 
able appendage of wealth, when in harness. 

In forty years we have increased from 
33,000,000 to 82,000,000 in population ; from 
^174,000,000 to ^873,000,000 in agricultural 
products exported; from 2,000,000 to 6,000,000 
farms; from ^8,500,000,000 to ^22,000,000,000 
total value of farm property; from $1,500,000,000 
to $4,500,000,000 annual value of farm products ; 
from $1,250,000,000 to $2,500,000,000 total value 
of farm animals, and from $ 1 7,000,000,000 to 
$100,000,000,000 total national wealth. In this 
progress the horse has played a very large part, 
and, contrary to the general and ignorant opinion, 
the horse still maintains his place as the most 
valuable piece of all-round useful machinery in 
the world. 

One has merely to note the way in which this 
valuable partner of our national prosperity is 
stabled, groomed, harnessed, and handled to excuse 
the writing of any number of books, and the persist- 
ent hammering away upon this subject. Sport 
and athletics are serious subjects because they are 
so vitally important to the physical comfort of man; 
and this branch of sport which deals with the 
horse, is of surprisingly vital interest to the nation 
when one comes to investigate it. 



1 68 Driving 

The cruelty, impatience, and ignorance dis- 
played by the great majority of horse-steerers — 
they are nothing more nor less than that — are 
apparent wherever we turn. Not only the shock- 
headed MicMac who tools the grocery wagon 
about our crowded streets ; not only the Sunday 
boy who indulges his Rowena in an hebdomadal 
picnic on wheels; but the hundreds of so-called 
coachmen who drive the high-priced horses of their 
masters in reins, bits, head-stalls, and collars fitted 
without discrimination upon any horse that comes 
into the stable, — all alike are in dire need of learn- 
ing how to make the most of their opportunities. 

It is not to be expected that every man who 
owns, or handles, a horse should be a veteri- 
nary, but the elementaiy principles of harnessing 
and bitting a horse so that he can do his work 
comfortably ought to be required of every one 
who, either for his own pleasure, or for hire, has 
anything to do with horses. Such an one ought to 
know how he came to have his present teeth and 
legs, his present mouth and small stomach, which 
reveals at once the secret of many of his weak- 
nesses and their proper care. Not to know, or 
to care to know, any of these things is to lessen 
the value of your horses as work-horses very 
materially, and to deprive yourself of the best part 
of the pleasure of dealing with your horses, if you 
have them and handle them merely for sport. 



CHAPTER II 

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE 

It is a curious phase of the history of the horse 
in this country that the ancestors of the horse 
once Hved in this country in large numbers, and 
then entirely disappeared. The ancestry of the 
horse has been traced back some three millions of 
years, and through that period practically every 
step of change, from the little five-toed whippet- 
like animal, to the Percheron or thoroughbred of 
to-day, can be illustrated by actual fossil remains. 

The most complete collection of fossil remains 
of the horse, and the best illustrations of the dif- 
ferent phases of his development, anywhere in 
the world, are in our Museum of Natural History 
in New York. 

When the remains of the prehistoric horse 
were first discovered, so little was known on the 
subject, that the great naturalist, Richard Owen, 
called him the Hyracotherium or " Hyrax-like 
Beast," referring to the coney of Scripture, little 
suspecting that there had been discovered in this 
Hyracotherium the fossil remains of the horse of 
millions of years ago. In the Jardin (TAcclima- 

169 



1 70 Driving 

tation in Paris there are two little horses at the 
present time each measuring under 24 inches at 
the withers. 

This little animal was first provided with the 
flat, spreading, five-toed foot suitable to the low- 
lying and marshy land in which he lived. His 
teeth and mouth, and shorter neck and jaw, were 
adapted to the softer and more luxuriant herbage 
of that time and place. 

As the water left the earth, this little animal 
gradually adapted himself to the harder ground, 
the less luxuriant vegetable growth and the neces- 
sities of the situation, which required that he 
should travel farther for his nourishment, and that 
he should travel faster, to escape his enemies. 

Pounding along on the plateaux, which became 
his natural habitat, he lost one toe after another, 
first from his hind feet, because they do the most 
work in propelling him, and then from his front 
feet. His neck and jaw grew longer as he was 
obliged to reach lower and lower down to bite off 
the wiry grasses of the plain. 

In short, the horse's foot and leg are developed 
from the short, slender leg and cushioned foot of, 
say, something resembling the foot and leg of a 
delicate-limbed tapir to its present form. 

Compared with a man's hand, for example, the 
horse's knee is represented by the human wrist ; 
the hairless spot of skin with its cushion beneath 




PLATE III. — NEOHIPPARION 

Intermediate stage in development of the horse, being about three feet high, 

and having three complete toes 




PLATE IV. — SKULL OF HORSE EIGHT YEARS OLD 
Showing long crowns of teeth 



The Natural History of the Horse 171 

—the fatty cushion of the fetlock — represents 
the prominence behind the root of each finger 
opposite the knuckles ; and the hoof itself repre- 
sents the nail of the middle finger of man. 

There are other patches of callous skin, some- 
times called " chestnuts " or " mallenders," which 
appear; that on the fore leg is above the wrist 
joint or " knee," that on the hind leg below the 
ankle or "hock" joint. These, however, are still 
puzzles to the scientists, although in an old book 
on the horse, by Youatt, he speaks of them as 
diseases and prescribes remedies for their cure. 

Huxley maintained that the theory of evolu- 
tion pointed to the five-toed horse, and he stoutly 
insisted that the fossil remains of such an animal 
would some day be discovered, and sure enough 
we now have in New York City the fossil re- 
mains of these prehistoric horses, carrying out, 
even in minute detail, the steps of development 
he had outlined. There is the horse with four 
toes (Plate I.), then the horse with these toes 
grown shorter, until they hang above the ground, 
and finally disappear altogether. 

Where the horse is left in a state of nature, free 
to choose the ground over which he will run, the 
hoof grows just in proportion as it is worn away, 
and maintains itself without artificial means, in 
perfect condition. On the other hand, where the 
horse is turned out on low-lying and moist land, 



172 Driving 

his feet grow to great length. This is the case, for 
example, in the Falkland Islands, where the whole 
surface is soft, mossy bog-land; and here the 
horses' feet grow to be twelve and fourteen inches 
in length and curl up in various ways, so that the 
animals can hardly walk upon them. The nails on 
the fingers and toes of man, if not shortened by 
abrasion from rough, manual labor, or cut and filed 
artificially, will grow to great length, and as they 
grow, curl inward and around the tips of the fin- 
gers and toes, attempting to form, what the toe-nail 
of the horse has formed, a hoof. 

Man himself, who has recently taken to walk- 
ing in a proud manner, only upon his hind legs, 
reserving his fore legs for painting, writing, ges- 
ticulating, and feeding himself, is also gradually 
losing the toes off his hind feet, — in many per- 
sons the little toe being already almost nothing 
more than a short and useless stump. 

When you run your fingers down the fore legs 
of a horse you may feel distinctly two of his toes 
tucked away under the skin, and now known as 
the " splint bones." Where horses are used con- 
tinuously to work on hard roads, this toe-nail or 
hoof wears itself away faster than it grows, hence 
the necessity for shoes. 

It is this evolution from a five, and then a four 
toed animal, to an animal that walks on the nail 
of the middle toe, which makes the legs and the 



The Natural History of the Horse 173 

feet of the horse such a very delicate and difficult 
problem to the horse owner (Plate II.). 

It cannot fail to be of value and interest to every 
one who deals with horses to trace their develop- 
ment as they increase in stature, and in brain, 
and with greater and greater complexity of teeth ; 
at the same time that the number of toes de- 
creases, according to the law which rules that the 
fewer the toes, the greater the speed; the swiftest 
bird being the ostrich and the fastest mammal 
the horse (Plate III.). 

The teeth of the earliest prehistoric horses were 
short-crowned and covered with low, rounded knobs 
of enamel, like the teeth of monkeys, or pigs, or 
other omnivorous animals, and entirely different 
from the grinders of the horse of to-day. Along 
with the development of the legs and feet of the 
horse, from an animal destined to live in marshy 
and forest ground, to an animal obliged to take 
care of itself in open, grassy plains, came a corre- 
sponding change in the teeth, from short-crowned, 
to long-crowned (Plate IV.), enabling the animal 
to live on the hard, dry grasses which require 
thorough mastication, before they are of use as 
nutritious food. 

The teeth of the modern horse are, perhaps, 
the most perfect grinding battery that could be 
devised. There is an external layer of enamel, 
and a second inner ring of enamel around the pit 



1 74 Driving 

of the tooth, and these grinding one upon and 
across the other, as the horse chews, make a 
most effective crusher and masticator of his food. 

The incisor teeth of the horse have all the great 
peculiarity, not found in the teeth of any other 
mammal, and only in the Equidce of comparatively 
recent geological periods, of an involution of the 
external surface of the tooth, by which what should 
properly be the apex, is carried deeply into the in- 
terior of the crown, forming a pit, the bottom of 
which becomes partially filled up with cement. As 
the tooth wears, the surface, besides the external 
enamel layer as in an ordinary, simple tooth, 
shows in addition a second inner ring of the 
same hard substance surrounding the pit, which, 
of course, adds greatly to the efificiency of the 
tooth as an organ for biting tough, fibrous sub- 
stances. This pit, generally filled with particles 
of food, is conspicuous from its dark color, and 
constitutes the " mark" by which the age of the 
horse is judged, as, in consequence of its only 
extending to a certain depth in the crown, it 
becomes obliterated as the crown wears away, 
and then the tooth assumes the character of that 
of an ordinary incisor, consisting only of a core 
of dentine, surrounded by the external enamel 
layer. It is not quite so deep in the lower as in 
the upper teeth. 

Between the canines and premolars is a space 



The Natural History of the Horse 175 

called the " bars " of a horse's mouth. It is here 
that the bit is placed, and not a few horsemen 
believe that this space in the horse's mouth has 
been gradually worn away by the use of bits 
until now it has become a regular bit-socket 
produced by the constant use of the horse by 
man. This is only one of the many absurd 
beliefs of the equinely wise in their generation. 
This space is no doubt the result of the length- 
ening of the jaw and head of the horse to reach 
his food. As his legs grew longer, placing him 
farther and farther above the ground, his neck grew 
longer and his jaw lengthened, and lengthened at 
a place where the grinding muscles would not 
interfere. The incisor teeth, three below and 
three above, developed more and more into ef- 
fective nippers, and the premolars and molars 
into grinders of the most delicately complicated 
and complete kind. 

It must not be supposed that this outline of 
the evolution of the horse is part patchwork and 
part surmise. On the contrary, the history of 
the evolution of the horse is the best-known 
illustration — and has been worked out with 
greater detail and success than any other ex- 
ample — of the doctrine of evolution by natural 
selection and adaptation to environment. " The 
skull of a man and the skull of a horse are com- 
posed of exactly the same number of bones, 



1 76 Driving 

having the same general arrangement and rela- 
tion to each other. Not only the individual 
bones, but every ridge and surface for the attach- 
ment of muscles and every hole for the passage 
of artery or nerve seen in one, can be traced in 
the other." The difference is mainly in this: 
in man the brain-case is very large and the face 
relatively of very small proportions ; while in the 
horse the brain is very much reduced, and the 
face, especially the mouth, of great size. One can 
readily recall types of both animals where these 
differences sink to insignificance. 

Even the man who is least interested in the 
ancestry of the horse cannot fail to see that the 
horse of to-day is the result of thousands of 
years of adaptation to his environment. His 
legs grew longer that he might go faster; his 
feet grew harder and encased themselves in a 
hoof; his head and neck grew longer that he 
might the more easily get his natural food ; his 
teeth adapted themselves to the nipping, grind- 
ing, and mastication of that food ; his bones, 
muscles, intestines, lungs, stomach, and general 
conformation inside and out, developed along 
the lines that have brought him to the point 
where he is far and away man's most useful side- 
partner amongst all animals. 

These matters are worth keeping in mind 
when you look over a horse with a view to his 



The Natural History of the Horse 177 

purchase. So far as your purse permits, you 
want the horse best adapted to your require- 
ments. As you look him over, you have at least 
an intelligent notion of what you may expect 
from his past history and the points of the ani- 
mal which indicate that he will bear out those 
expectations. 

Let us suppose you want a harness horse for 
all-round work, one that will go single, double, 
or in a makeshift four. It is not required that 
he trot in 2.10, nor that he be able to be one 
of four to pull a loaded coach ten miles an hour. 

First of all, he must see. Next he must have 
legs and feet to go on. Then he must have 
room for a furnace inside of him, to furnish the 
propelling force for those legs; and the more 
intelligence he has, and the more good-natured 
he appears, the better. Later, some of the more 
prominent good points and bad points of the 
horse will be noticed in detail, but it is as well 
to say at the start that the horse-dealer, or your 
most horsy friend, or the veterinary, avail little 
to find you the perfect horse. 

All that reading, study, and experience can do 
is to avoid the worst faults, to keep in mind the 
salient good points, and then to make the very 
most of your purchase by care and training after 
he is your property. You may learn the good 
and bad points of a horse by heart and be as a 



1 78 Driving 

babe in the hands of a clever horse-seller, whether 
he be professional or amateur. He knows the 
weaknesses, and also the good points, of what he 
has to sell, and you do not ; and there are very 
few Launcelots in the horse business. We have 
all bought horses of a shrewd dealer and sold 
them again for five times what we paid ; we have 
also bought horses and gladly disposed of them 
for one-fifth of the purchase price. 

The main trouble in the whole matter is that 
buying and selling horses is looked upon by many 
people as either necromancy or thievery. It is 
neither. Study, intelligence, and experience are 
as necessary and as valuable in choosing a horse 
as in any other department of life, and in the 
end are just as valuable. Art critics have been 
fooled ; book-worms have been deceived ; lovers 
have been disappointed ; financiers have gone 
into bankruptcy ; educated men have been fail- 
ures ; but study, intelligence, and experience still 
rank high, none the less. It is possible that in 
this matter of choosing a horse the aleatory in- 
stinct in man comes to the fore and he is apt to 
think luck plays too great a part, but, aside from 
that, much the same qualities succeed here as 
elsewhere. 



CHAPTER III 

THE EARLY DAYS OF THE HORSE IN AMERICA 

Why the horse, the fossil remains of which are 
found so abundantly in the middle West of this 
country that these places are known in the Scien- 
tific world as " Equus Beds," became extinct, 
there being no horses here at the time of the 
Spanish Conquest, is a mystery. 

It is the more remarkable, for when the horse was 
introduced here and ran wild in South America 
and Texas, he increased and multiplied rapidly, 
showing that the climate, food, and general con- 
ditions were exceptionally well adapted to him. 

Various animals have been used as beasts of 
burden, and even as cavalry, all over the world. 
In the old days of Cape Town, the Hottentots 
broke their oxen to the saddle and used them 
even for cavalry purposes in time of war. 

In a report of the Treasurer-general of Peru, 
written in 1544, it is stated that the Spaniards 
even in those days used the large sheep or llama 
of that country both as beasts of burden and to 
ride. 

The first importation of horses into the new 

179 



i8o Driving 

world, credited by authentic history, was made by 
Columbus in 1493, when he landed in what is now 
known as San Domingo with seventeen vessels. 

When Cortes landed at what is now known as 
Vera Cruz, having sailed thither from Cuba, he 
had with him the first horses that any man had 
ever seen in the Western hemisphere, and this 
was in 15 19. The Indians thought these visitors 
were from the sun, and that the horses were 
fabulous creatures of incomparable prowess, and 
brought offerings of bread and flesh to them. 

Later, in the bloody wars of Mexico and Peru, 
the war-horses, whose riders were slain, escaped 
and reproduced themselves rapidly in the great 
and luxurious plains, well provided with food and 
water and in a climate especially suited to them. 

De Soto had horsemen with him on his expedi- 
tion when he discovered the Mississippi River, 
and doubtless many of the horses were left be- 
hind to run wild when the survivors of that dis- 
astrous expedition, without their leader, returned 
in rough boats and rafts. 

It is thought by some investigators that the 
horses found by Cabot in La Plata in 1530 could 
not have been imported, but this is highly improb- 
able. There is practically no doubt but that the 
wild horse of America is a direct descendant of 
the Spanish horse, and therefore of the selfsame.: 
blood, which later made the thoroughbred in 



Early Days of the Horse in America i8i 

England, and the trotter in the United States, 
the fleetest and most valuable of their race. 

The first importation of horses into what is 
now the United States was in 1527 by Cabeza de 
Vaca; these, forty-two in number, were brought 
to Florida, but through accident, disease, and ill- 
usage, all of them died. 

The next importation was by De Soto from 
Spain, and these no doubt were the progenitors 
of our wild horses of the West and Southwest. 

In 1625, the Honorable Pieter Evertsen Hueft 
agreed to ship, and did ship, to Manhattan Island, 
one hundred head of cattle, including a certain 
number of stallions and mares. These horses 
were of the Flanders breed, from which descended 
the Conestoga horse, afterwards justly prized in 
Pennsylvania. 

The first horses came to Massachusetts prob- 
ably in 1629. At any rate, we know that Gov- 
ernor Winthrop, writing on board the Arabella, 
at Cowes, March 28, 1630, says: "We are in all 
our eleven ships about seven hundred persons 
and 240 cows and about sixty horses." 

English horses were landed at Jamestown, Vir- 
ginia, as early as 1609, and there is a tradition that 
the first horse to land in Canada was brought to 
Tadousac in 1647. 

As early as 164 1-2 we read of horses and carts 
crossing Boston harbor on the ice, so severe was 



1 82 Driving 

the winter of that year. In 1636, when the Rev- 
erend Thomas Hooker and his followers left the 
colony to found Hartford, Mrs. Hooker, so a letter 
of that date reads, was carried in a horse-litter. 
But the diligence and care of these first settlers 
in New England is nowhere more clearly shown, 
than by the fact that already, in 1640, Governor 
Winthrop writes of shipping eighty horses from 
Boston to the Barbadoes. Hardly had they im- 
ported horses for themselves before they were 
breeding them and shipping them to other parts 
of the world. 

These horses were not of very valuable stock. 
As early as 1650 a young mare with her second 
or third foal was valued at about ^60 ; a five or six 
year old stallion at about $55 — this in Mahattan. 
In New England, where cattle were especially 
abundant, horses were worth about one-third less. 

This is accounted for by the fact that horses in 
England even as late as the beginning of the 
eighteenth century were held in low esteem at 
home, where they were valued at about fifty shil- 
lings each. The better class of horses in Eng- 
land at this time were brought from Barbary or 
from Flanders. The well-known saying, " The 
gray mare is the better horse," arose from the 
recognized superiority of the gray mares from 
Flanders over the English horses of that date. 

Even as late as 1 700, dogs harnessed to small 



Early Days of the Horse in America 183 

trucks did most of the teaming in the narrow and 
badly paved streets of the EngHsh towns, and 
were by no means uncommon in London for 
many years after that time. 

One may judge of the condition of the roads, 
and the difficulties of transportation, by the 
charges. Seven pounds sterling a ton was 
charged for transportation from London to 
Birmingham; and twelve pounds sterling a ton 
from London to Exeter. Coal in those days was 
unknown except in the districts where it was 
mined, owing to the fact that the transportation 
of coal over the roads as they then were in Eng- 
land, would have made the price prohibitive. 

The demand for the better class of horses in 
England at the time of the earlier importations 
of these animals to America, was mainly for the 
army, and for heavy horses to pull the carriages 
and heavy travelling coaches of the nobility and 
gentry. Such horses as were needed for these 
purposes were pretty generally imported from 
Barbary and Arabia, and from Flanders. 

There seems to have been, however, a native 
horse in Great Britain, for Caesar notes the fact 
that the Britons drove war-chariots. 

William the Conqueror, who represents to 
England genealogically what the Mayflower 
represents to America, gave to a certain Simon 
St. Liz, a Norman friend of his, the entire town 



1 84 Driving 

of Northampton and the whole hundred of 
Falkley, then valued at £^o a year, " to provide 
shoes for his horses." 

From 1066 to the close of the twelfth century 
there was renewal and improvement of the British 
horse by importations from the continent, and 
also by stray animals brought back by the Crusad- 
ers under Richard and others ; but such improve- 
ments of the native breed as these importations 
imply were of small importance, and without 
system or aim of any kind. 

During the reigns of Henry VIII. and Eliza- 
beth, important legislation looking to the care 
and breeding of horses was passed, and when 
James I., who was fond of racing, came to 
the throne, he bought from a Mr. Markham 
an Arabian stallion, afterwards always known 
as the " Markham Arabian," paying for him 
what was for those days the extravagant amount 
of five hundred guineas. 

This purchase by King James marks the 
beginning of high-class breeding in England. 
From then on, down through the reigns of 
Charles I., Charles II., and William III., not 
to mention Oliver Cromwell who raced horses 
with the same enthusiasm that he sang psalms, 
many horses were imported, much interest was 
taken in racing and breeding, and for the last 
three hundred years, from 1603, when James 



Early Days of the Horse in America 185 

came to the throne, till now, England has 
been the home of, probably, the best horses 
in the world, and nothing pleases her people 
as a whole more than to have the reigning 
sovereign win the Derby. 

The first volume of the English Stud Book, 
then known as the " Match Book," was published 
in 1808, and from then on we have had a more or 
less orderly sequence of breeding history, and 
the English thoroughbred race-horse, the pro- 
genitor at one time or another of the best types 
of horses in this country, became a recognized 
standard of horse. 

Our own horse history may be said to begin 
at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The 
Treaty of Peace with Great Britain was signed 
in Paris, July 3, 1783, and the British troops left 
November 25. The population of the United 
States at that time was less than four millions, 
about the number of people settled in and around 
New York City to-day. 

The carriage roads of Boston were unpaved ; 
and marked off by a line of posts and gutters, 
and laid with ill-assorted pebbles. The horse- 
man who rode too fast over these pebbles, and 
thus threatened their disarrangement, was fined 
three shillings and fouipence. 

The mail was carried between Boston and New 
York thrice a week in summer, and twice a week 



1 86 Driving 

in winter, taking six days in summer and often 
nine days in winter, and all carried in one pair of 
saddle-bags. The post-riders knitted mittens and 
stockings as their horses jogged along over the 
well-known roads. 

The very first coach and four in New England 
began running in 1744, and the first coach and 
four between New York and Philadelphia, the 
two most populous cities in the colonies, was put 
on in 1756 and accomplished the journey in three 
days. 

Two stages and twelve horses carried all the 
goods and passengers between New York and 
Boston, doing forty miles a day in summer, and 
scarce twenty-five miles a day in winter. Josiah 
Quincy, writing at this time, tells us that he once 
spent thirty days in his own coach going from 
Boston to Washington. 

The streets of New York were so badly paved 
that Benjamin Franklin was wont to say that you 
could distinguish a New York man in Phila- 
delphia by the awkward way in which he shuffled 
over the smoother pavements of the latter city. 

There were but three roads out of New York 
in those days : the Knightsbridge road, a continu- 
ation of the Bowery Lane, which went to Knights- 
bridge and thence along the river to Albany ; the 
old Boston post-road, which started from the 
neighborhood of what is now Madison Square, 



Early Days of the Horse in America 187 

thence to Harlem, and then east toward Boston ; 
and the so-called middle road, direct to Harlem. 

In the southernmost states there were no 
public conveyances of any kind except a stage- 
coach between Charleston and Savannah. 

It is only one hundred years ago, only the span 
of two lives, and the population has grown from 
four millions to eighty millions; the gross re- 
ceipts from postage from $320,000 (the gross 
receipts for the year ending October i, 1801) to 
over $121,000,000 in 1902. The total estimate 
for the expenses of the city of New York in 1800 
was for $ 1 30,000. 

These were the days when the fashionable 
assemblies were advertised to " open with a Passe- 
Pie and end with the Sarabund a I'Espagnole " ; 
days when eight bags of cotton were seized by 
the officers of the customs in England, because it 
was claimed no such enormous amount of cotton 
could have come from America; days when, so 
writes Josiah Quincy at any rate, the minister 
alone had white bread, "for brown bread gave 
him heart-burn, and he could not preach upon 
it ; " and it was some fifty years later even than 
this, before we had the wheel-plough of iron, the 
reaper and binder, the drill, the hay-rake, and the 
corn-cutter. 

There was little leisure, and little money to be 
devoted to sport of any kind, and the horse and 



1 88 Driving 

the dog existed in New England, at least, in va- 
rieties little suited to sport. 

In the South it was somewhat different. A 
jockey-club was organized in Charleston, South 
Carolina, as early as 1735, and there was horse- 
racing in Maryland, Virginia, and other Southern 
states for years before the Revolution. 

In New England, on the contrary, racing was 
strictly forbidden on moral and religious grounds. 
No such thing as a running-race could be tol- 
erated by the Puritans of that section. As a 
consequence of this, we may trace the pedigree 
of the American trotting-horse straight to Arch- 
bishop Laud, who having infuriated the Puritans 
to the point of desiring emigration for themselves 
and their families to the new world, they founded 
New England. 

The scandalous levity and apparently papal 
leanings of Charles and Laud were not to be 
permitted for a moment in their new home, and 
pretty much all amusements were frowned upon. 
But the Cromwellian love of a fast horse survived 
in some of his fellow-Puritans living in New Eng- 
land, and men trained to the theological hair-split- 
ting of that day made a distinction between horses 
trotting in friendly competition between church- 
members and horses running for money prizes ! 

" Thou shalt not covet, but tradition 
Approves all forms of competition." 



Early Days of the Horse in America 189 

Two horses trotting down the streets of Hing- 
ham, Massachusetts, and one, perhaps, going a 
little faster than the other, would hardly lead even 
the godly Rev. Ebenezer Gay to suppose that he 
was looking on at the beginnings of the sport 
of trotting-races, and that a mare called Gold- 
smith Maid would win for her owners over 
^200,000 between 1866 and 1878 at this same 
sport. Strangely as it may read, there is little 
doubt but that Puritan principles or prejudices, 
as you please, gave the impetus to the^ develop- 
ment of the trotting-horse. Horses used for rac- 
ing had always run, but when it was discovered 
that horses could also be raced at a trot, those 
that showed speed at this gait were used to breed 
from, and pains were taken to develop their speed- 
ing qualities. Hence it is not flippant humor 
that traces the trotting-horse back to Laud. 

** Fast Trotting. — Yesterday afternoon the Haerlem race- 
course of one mile distance, was trotted around in two minutes 
and fifty-nine seconds by a horse called Yankey, from New 
Haven ; a rate of speed, it is believed, never before excelled in 
this country, and fully equal to anything recorded in the Eng- 
lish sporting calendars." — From the Connecticut Journal, June 
19, 1806. 

The first trotting-match of which there is any 
authentic account was in 18 18, when Boston Blue 
was produced to win the wager, that no horse 
could trot a mile in three minutes, and won it; 



iQo Driving 

what the amount was is not stated. From that 
time on, trotting horses against one another and 
against time became a popular amusement. In 
1834, Andrew Jackson trotted a mile in 2 minutes 
42-I seconds; in 1858, Ethan Allen trotted a mile 
in 2 minutes 28 seconds; in 1859, Flora Temple 
trotted a mile in 2 minutes igj seconds; in 1874, 
Mambrino Gift lowered the record to 2 minutes 
and 20 seconds ; in 1874, the famous Goldsmith 
Maid trotted a mile in 2 minutes and 14 seconds. 

In 1843 there were only two horses that could 
trot a mile under 2 minutes and 30 seconds ; 
while in 1881 there were over twelve hundred 
horses with records of 2 minutes 30 seconds or 
better. 

Trotting in those early days was mostly under 
saddle, and some of the races were even three 
miles in length. Since about 1850 trotting-races 
have been over a mile stretch, best three in five 
heats. 

It is noted as a curious fact in the history of 
the trotting-horse that Messenger, who served a 
number of thoroughbred mares, served a far 
larger number of cold-blooded mares, and it was 
in these latter that the trotting instinct was 
almost invariably developed. This is repeated 
through the trotting register — almost no thor- 
oughbreds have been trotting dams. Palo Alto is 
about the only half-breed that was a successful 



Early Days of the Horse in America 191 

trotter, and one campaign finished him. Messen- 
ger was imported in 1 792 and was at stud in New 
York and in Philadelphia for many years. 

The first known importation of a thoroughbred 
to America was that of a horse called Bully 
Rock, by the Darley Arabian, out of a mare by 
the Byerly Turk, brought over to Virginia in 
1730. A number of Derby winners were im- 
ported to America before 1800, including Diomed, 
the winner of the first Derby in 1780, Saltram, 
John Bull, Spread Eagle, Sir Harry, and others. 

It must not be forgotten in dealing with the 
subject of driving that not only the history of 
the harness-horse in America is all very modern 
history, but that the condition of the roads and 
the state of the carriage-building trade prevented 
any great progress until lately. 

Carriages, indeed, were hardly an ordinary ar- 
ticle of manufacture until late in the reign of 
Charles II., or about 1675. It is maintained that 
a rough coach or wagon ran as a public convey- 
ance between Edinburgh and Leith as early as 
1 6 10, but little is known on the subject. The in- 
little-things-omniscient Pepys writes in his diary 
under date of 1665 of springs on certain carriages. 
But coach and carriage-building had not pro- 
gressed very far till later than this. The state 
coach of George III., 1762, weighed four tons, was 
24 feet long, 8 feet 3 inches wide, 12 feet high, 



192 Driving 

and had a pole 1 2 feet long. " Hansom's Patent 
Safety Cab " did not appear until 1834. 

In the spring of 1669, a coach, described as 
the " Flying Coach," went from Oxford to Lon- 
don in one day, a distance now covered in an 
hour and three-quarters by rail. This Flying 
Coach departed on its first trip from Oxford sur- 
rounded by the dignitaries of the town and the 
university, and was welcomed in London by no 
less imposing official personages. 

With this coach and others to follow, began all 
sorts of objections to conveyances going at this 
rate of speed. It was contended that they would 
spoil the roads, ruin the inns along the route by 
not stopping at them, and do great harm to the 
breed of horses by promoting speed at the ex- 
pense of bone and weight. 

It is curious to think that even the first mail- 
coach was criticised on much the same grounds 
as the first railroad trains. There was little 
danger either in England or in America of un- 
duly fast travel with horses and vehicles in their 
then condition. 

Even now in the United States the condition 
of the roads, except in and around the wealthier 
cities, is deplorable. In the last quarter of a cen- 
tury in this country we have built 132,865 miles 
of steam railway and we now have 203,133 miles 
of railroad. During the past fifteen years we 



Early Days of the Horse in America 193 

have built some 23,000 miles of trolley road; we 
have spent in ten years ^176,226,934 for the im- 
provement of rivers and harbors, but for the in- 
land farmer almost nothing has been done to give 
him good wagon roads. There are 74,097 miles 
of public highway in the state of New York alone. 
It is calculated that ^1.15 will haul a ton — 

Five miles on a common road, 

Twelve and one-half to fifteen miles on a well-made road, 

Twenty-five miles on a trolley road, 

Two hundred and fifty miles on a steam railway, 

One thousand miles on a steamship. 

France has 23,603 miles of wagon roads built 
and maintained by the government. Italy has 
some 5000 miles of road built and maintained 
by the government. Here in the United States, 
where more and more depends upon the ability 
of the farmers, small and large, to get their prod- 
uce quickly and safely to market, nothing has 
been done as yet by the Federal government. It is 
worth knowing that a pair of horses drawing a 
load of 4000 pounds on a level road with a cer- 
tain effort, can only draw with the same effort — 

3600 pounds on a road with a grade of i foot rise in loo feet, 
3200 pounds on a road with a grade of i foot rise in 50 feet, 
2880 pounds on a road with a grade of i foot rise in 40 feet, 
2160 pounds on a road with a grade of i foot rise in 25 feet, 
1600 pounds on a road with a grade of i foot rise in 20 feet. 

It is worth knowing, too, that careful experi- 
ments prove that wide tires — 3 to 4 inches 



194 Driving 

— are lighter in their draught than narrow tires. 
That they are better for the road is very appar- 
ent. The wider tires act almost as a stone- 
crusher, and actually help to keep roads in repair. 

In Austria, all wagons carrying a load of more 
than 2J tons are obliged by law to have wheels 
with rims 4-J inches wide. 

In France, the tires of wheels on wagons used for 
carrying heavy loads are from 4 to 6 inches wide 
and some of them as much as 10 inches wide. 
In France, too, the rear axles on such wagons 
are made from 12 to 14 inches wider than the 
front axles, so that the rear wheels run outside 
the track of the front wheels, thus making a very 
effective road improver of every heavy wagon. 

In Germany, the law requires that all wagons 
carrying heavy loads shall have tires to their 
wheels at least 4 inches wide. 

It is now within the jurisdiction of boards of 
supervisors, in the state of New York at least, to 
enact laws regulating the width of tires on heavy 
wagons. 

What good roads and wide tires and properly 
cared for and properly harnessed and handled 
horses would mean to us, in this, now the 
greatest agricultural and manufacturing country 
in the world, is almost beyond calculation. 



CHAPTER IV 

POINTS OF THE HORSE 

Though you will probably never find just the 
horse you want for your particular purpose, that 
is no reason for not knowing something about 
the ideal horse. 

There must be some intelligent and rational 
notions in regard to a horse if you are to choose 
one. It is better to know what one wants, and to 
keep it clear in mind, in this world, even if one 
never gets it. It is as sure as anything can be 
that the man who does not know what he wants 
will not get it. 

Probably the best way to know a good horse 
is to study attentively a fine specimen of harness- 
horse (Plate IX.), polo pony (Plate VII.), saddle- 
horse (Plate VIII.), coach-horse, light-harness horse 
(Plate XIII.), children's pony (Plates XL, XII.), 
and carry the type in your mind's eye for refer- 
ence (Plate XXX.). 

A man learns to know a good book by years 
of intelligent study of good books ; he comes to 
know a good picture by seeing the best pictures. 
The man who has seen champion Lord Lismore 

195 



196 Driving 

knows forever after what an Irish setter ought 
to look like ; the man who has seen Pierre Loril- 
lard's Geneva knows what a light-weight Llewellyn 
setter ought to look like. 

No instrument has been invented which can 
teach a man to know a good book, a good picture, 
a good dog, a good horse, or a good woman. No 
such instrument will ever be invented, and that 
is what makes life so surprisingly unexpected, 
interesting, and exciting. We may deplore our 
ignorance, but it is precisely this which keeps us 
all alive. 

To begin with, then, the head of the ideal horse 
should be lean, the skin fine, the bones prominent, 
the muscles well developed, showing the masti- 
cating apparatus in good working order. The 
space between the jaws underneath should be 
broad and well hollowed out. There is a saying 
that a man should be able to put his clinched 
fist there, but such a test would require a very 
unhorsemanlike hand. Remember that a horse 
breathes through his nose, and that the air pas- 
sages from nostrils to windpipe always must have 
space. The windpipe should be large and well 
defined in its detachment from the neck. It is 
preferable that his profile should be Grecian, or 
straight, rather than either concave or convex. 
He should be broad between the eyes for three 
reasons : first, because that forehead is the roof 





5 years 



6 years 





7 years 



8 years 





1 years 



1 2 years 




14 years 




1 7 years 



PLATE VI.— TEETH OF HORSE 



Points of the Horse 197 

over the spaces through which he breathes ; sec- 
ond, because to it are attached the muscles by 
which he opens and shuts his mouth ; third, be- 
cause this space also contains the brain. The 
eye should not be conspicuously small, denoting 
trickiness, nor unduly prominent, known among 
horsemen as the " buck eye," and often denoting 
' defective vision. It should be set well up in the 
head, and when looked into should not show too 
much white, and should be clear. The eye- 
lids should be thin and comparatively without 
wrinkles. The lips should be thin and flexible, 
and without undue length, either above or 
below. 

The ears should be lean, and the skin and hair 
on them fine. A quick, decisive movement of 
the ears gives an air of readiness and determina- 
tion and usually implies those qualities. A lop- 
eared, hanging-lipped animal may turn out useful, 
just as men with faces like Socrates and Savona- 
rola turned out to be saints ; but in buying horses 
and trusting men it is better to go by general laws 
than by exceptions. 

The head should be set on to the neck to give, 
what is very hard to describe, but easy to recog- 
nize, viz. an appearance as though the neck con- 
trolled the head, and not as though head and 
neck were all of one piece. At this juncture of 
head and neck the distance between the throat 



198 Driving 

and poll should, as compared with the size of the 
neck elsewhere, be small. 

The shoulders, not only for a saddle-horse, but 
for the harness-horse as well, should be sloping 
(Plate VIII.). Put a saddle on half a dozen diflfer- 
ent horses one after the other and note where 
the stirrup-leathers fall, i.e. how far behind the 
fore legs. If you have no other way of knowing 
whether the horse you are looking at has straight 
or oblique shoulders, this will tell you infallibly. 
Remember that about this question of shoulders, 
as about most other points of the horse, much 
nonsense is talked by the slovenly omniscient, of 
whom there is a multitude in the horse world. 
For though, as a rule, a horse can trot and gallop 
and walk with straight shoulders, he can do none 
of these exercises, except the last (that not fast) 
comfortably to himself with straight shoulders. 
Remember, in examining the shoulder of a horse, 
that there is the shoulder-blade and also the short 
bone (humerus) connecting the shoulder-blade 
with the upper bone of the leg. This shorter 
bone slopes backward and downward. The 
shoulder-blade is the better the more it slants, 
this shorter bone is the better the less it slants. 
A good horse, whether saddler, road-horse, or 
harness-horse, steps from the shoulder, not from 
the knee. Do not be deceived by the up-and- 
down action from the knee, which is often taken 




PLATE VII. — POLO PONY 




PLATE VI IL— LIGHT-HARNESS HORSE 



Points of the Horse 199 

to mean free and high action. The contrary is 
true. Such a horse can travel all day on a tin- 
plate. 

The ribs should be well rounded from above to 
below, should be definitely separated, and of full 
length. A horse with flat, short ribs near together 
must, anatomically, be lacking in power. The 
chest should be deep, but not excessively wide. 
The depth of the chest measured around should 
be large. When a horse is pointed out to you 
as being " well ribbed up," this does not mean that 
a line drawn from the bottom of his chest along 
his belly should slope abruptly upward like a 
greyhound ; on the contrary, the loins and back, 
at the point slightly behind where the cantle of 
a saddle would come, should be broad, flat, and 
powerful-looking, and there should be no appear- 
ance of being tucked in, or tucked up, at the 
hinder end of the back and loins. A line drawn 
around the horse's body from the top of the withers 
to the elbow-joint, and from the point of the hip 
to the stifle-joint, would include between them 
where the horse lives, and this valuable space 
should be roomy and enclosed in muscular, but 
elastic, walls. If you put a tape around a well- 
developed and well-bred polo pony 14.2 in height, 
around his barrel just behind his fore legs, he will 
measure 66 to 68 inches ; around his barrel just 
in front of his hind legs 61 to 63 inches. The 



200 Driving 

same measurements for a well-bred horse 15.2 
will be from 70 to 73 inches, and from 65 to 67 
inches respectively. These are the proportions 
of an animal " well ribbed up " in the best sense. 
" Tucked up " or " tucked in " would mean that 
the measurements are smaller in proportion, be- 
hind. In looking over your prospective horse, 
therefore, see that his body be well rounded out 
not only in front but also behind, so that the last 
ribs look to be long, well rounded, and having but 
a small space — two or three fingers — between 
themselves and the point of the hip. Depth, 
shortness, and roundness of body are the essen- 
tials (Plate VII.). 

As for the legs, the upper bone should be long 
in proportion to the lower or cannon-bone, and 
should be large and well supplied with muscle. 
The elbows should stand out far enough from the 
body to insure freedom of action. The knee 
should be wide from side to side, flat in front, 
and thick from before to behind. The leg just 
below the knee should not look disproportionately 
small, or " tied in " as it is called, but should be 
as large as other parts of the lower limb. The 
tendons that run down behind the cannon-bone 
should not adhere closely just below the knee. 
This bone (cannon-bone) between the knee and 
the fetlock should be short, straight, and strong. 
The fetlock — the upper and lower pastern bones 



Points of the Horse 201 

— should be of moderate length and neither too 
sloping nor too straight. Out of a number of 
horses those with the best pasterns were those 
who stood the following simple test : Drop a line 
with a weight on it from the shoulder opposite 
the middle of the leg ; in the case of the perfect 
pastern the line should end immediately behind 
the hoof. If the line drops in front of the heels 
of the hoof, the pastern is too straight ; if behind, 
the pastern is too flexible. 

The hoof of the horse corresponds to the claw 
or nail in other animals, and is made so that it 
forms a solid, tough, horny case around the ex- 
panded end of the toe. This non-sensitive sub- 
stance renews itself from within as friction and 
work wear it away. 

The feet of the horse should be moderately 
large, with the heels open and the frogs sound 
and with no sign of contraction. Big, spreading, 
awkward-looking feet mean weight to lift, coarse 
breeding, and usually a dull, heavy disposition. 
Smallish, round hoofs mean just the contrary. 

Behind, the horse should have long and wide 
hips, with no appearance of raggedness, the stifle 
and thigh strong and long, and the hind quarters 
well let down, and not turned in nor turned out. 
The hind feet should be under the end of the 
croup, and the hocks and fetlocks should be a 
little back of a line dropped from the buttocks. 



202 Driving 

The hock should have plenty of bone, be neatly 
outlined, wide, and thick. The bones below the 
hock should be flat, the tendons well developed 
and standing out from the bone, the feet and 
pasterns as in front. 

The dock of the tail should be large and strong. 
Muscular development there, means proportionate 
strength all along the spine. The tail should be 
set on high, and be carried firmly and away from 
the quarters. A fat, awkward tail is a mark of 
poor breeding. The tail of the well-bred horse 
usually tapers off toward the end. 

As a well-known Continental breaker and trainer 
of horses phrases it : "I like a handsome head, 
long and light neck, prominent withers, short and 
strong back and loins, long croup, long and 
oblique shoulders, close coupling between the 
point of the hip and the last rib, hocks well let 
down, short cannon-bones, long forearms, and 
the pasterns fairly long. A horse should be close 
to the ground, which he will be when the distance 
from the brisket to the ground will be equal to 
that from the withers to the brisket. A horse 
which is high off the ground is generally clumsy 
in his movements and liable to stumble." An 
old-time wTiter on the subject of the horse claims 
that a good horse should have : three qualities of 
a woman, — a broad breast, round hips, and a long 
mane; three of a lion, — countenance, courage. 




PLATE IX. — HARNESS TYPE 




PLATE X. — FLYING CLOUD, HARNESS TYPE 



Points of the Horse 203 

and fire ; three of a bullock, — the eye, the nos- 
trils, and the joints; three of a sheep, — the nose, 
gentleness, and patience ; three of a mule, — 
strength, constancy, and foot; three of a deer, 

— head, legs, and short hair ; three of a wolf, — 
throat, neck, and hearing; three of a fox, — ear, 
tail, and trot ; three of a serpent, — memory, 
sight, and turning ; and three of a hare or cat, 

— running, walking, and suppleness. 
Xenophon writes : " The neck should not be 

thrown out from the chest like a boar's, but like 
a cock's should rise straight up to the poll and 
be slim at the bend, while the head, though bony, 
should have but a small jaw. The neck would 
then protect the rider, and the eye see what lies 
before the feet." 

One cannot go to buy a horse with a tape- 
measure, but certain proportions are well enough 
to keep in mind. The length of the head of a well- 
proportioned horse is almost equal to the distance : 
(i) from the top of the withers to the point of 
the shoulder ; (2) from the lowest point of the 
back to the abdomen ; (3) from the point of the 
stifle to the point of the hock ; (4) from the point 
of the hock to the lower level of the hoof ; (5) from 
the shoulder-blade to the point of the haunch. 
Two and a half times the length of the head 
gives : (i) the height of the withers and the height 
of the croup above the ground, and (2) very nearly 



204 Driving 

the length from the point of the shoulder to the 
extreme of the buttock (Plate XVIII.). 

One should never judge a man or a horse by 
his defects and weaknesses, but rather by his 
strong points and his general proportions. Any 
political campaign will teach the absolute impos- 
sibility, not to say imbecility, of any or all the 
candidates ; and yet one or another of them is 
fairly certain to give us a respectable government. 
Tammany has been known to elect an upright 
mayor ; Reform has been known to elect a weak 
one. There have been trotters and runners of 
surprising records with numerous defects of build, 
and we all have one or more equine paragons in 
the stable that are for sale at a moderate price. 

None the less, there are certain defects which 
should be constantly kept in mind. They are, 
beginning at the head: a coarse, heavy head, a 
thick, short neck, a small, sunken eye, a long back, 
a hollow back (though there have been good 
racers with sway-backs), flat sides, too much 
length between last rib and hind quarters (a 
mare, as compared with a horse, has, as a rule, a 
lighter neck, a broader pelvis, is higher behind and 
slacker in the loins), prominent and bony hips, 
low at the withers, a shallow chest, fore legs too 
close together and not straight, very straight or 
very bent pasterns and hocks, much split up 
between the quarters, tail put on too low and 




PLATE XL— CHILDREN'S PONY 




PLATE XIL — CHILDREN'S PONY 



Points of the Horse 205 

hanging close to the quarters, flat feet, over-big 
feet, contracted feet. 

Of the age of a horse, after eight years, only 
those who have given much time and study to 
the subject can determine anything very accurately. 
The receding of the gums and wear and tear of 
the teeth, of course, are indubitable signs of age. 
The lower jaw, too, as a horse advances in years, 
tends to bend outward, making an angle more and 
more acute rather than an obtuse angle. The 
cross-sections of the teeth, too, are smaller as the 
teeth grow up from the gums to supply the parts 
worn away. Up to the age of six years the age 
of the horse can be determined fairly accurately, 
but even then difference in food and care make 
a marked difference in the wear on the teeth. 

The young foal has two and sometimes three 
temporary molars in each jaw (Plate V.). 
When about twelve months old another molar 
appears (Plate V.) which is permanent, and be- 
fore the completion of the second year a fifth 
molar, also permanent, appears (Plate V.). Be- 
tween the age of three and four the mouth is 
completed with twelve permanent molars in 
each jaw, or twenty-four in all (Plate V.). The 
incisors are six in number in each jaw when 
the mouth is complete, at the age of four. Just 
back of these, on each side, at the age of four 
appears a pointed tooth called a tusk (Plate VI.). 



2o6 Driving 

These tusks are rarely found in mares. The 
lower jaw of a horse three years old is marked 
by two permanent teeth in the centre and two 
milk teeth on either side. Milk teeth are easily 
distinguished from permanent incisors by their 
smallness, whiteness, and their more distinct 
necks. At the age of four the lower jaw has 
four permanent and one milk tooth on either side. 
At the age of five there are six permanent teeth 
and no milk teeth. At the age of six there are 
six permanent teeth and the corner teeth are 
filled in the centre. At the age of seven the 
dark filling in the pit of the two centre teeth 
disappears (Plate VI.). At the age of eight 
(Plate VI.) the dark filling disappears from the 
four centre teeth, and at the age of nine these 
marks have generally disappeared from all the 
teeth (Plate VI.). For all practical purposes 
this measure of the age of the horse is accurate 
enough, though it is apparent that the nature 
of the food on which the horse is fed, whether 
it be hard or soft, makes a difference. Horses, 
for example, fed upon the fresh food of a farm 
will retain the marks in the teeth longer than 
horses grazing upon tough grass. As a rule, in 
examining a horse's mouth only the lower jaw is 
looked at. It is well to lift the lips above the 
upper incisors to see if they are unduly worn — a 
sure sign of "cribbing." 




PLATE XIII. -GOOD SHOULDERS. LEGS, AND FEET 




PLATE XIV. — HEAVY-HARNESS TYPES 



Points of the Horse 207 

What has been written thus far as to the points 
of the horse may puzzle the amateur owner, for 
the reason that these points seem to apply to all 
horses of whatever description. In proper pro- 
portions they do. It is only necessary to adapt 
these measurements and proportions to the kind 
of a horse we want, remembering always the 
well-known law, that muscles and bones of speed 
are long and slender, and those of strength are 
short and thick. A pony 14 hands 2 inches, 
capable of carrying 200 odd pounds, and a three- 
quarters bred polo pony of the same size, but 
wanted for speed and quickness, would naturally 
enough not look alike, but the general relation of 
the parts to one another would be the same ; and 
in looking at one for a weight-carrier and at the 
other for speed, you should bear in your mind's 
eye the same distinct principles of what consti- 
tutes a good horse and what a bad one. 

If you are looking for a horse for your runabout, 
or for a horse for a heavy station-wagon, one 
should be lighter, cleaner-built perhaps, quicker, 
and livelier than the other; but it is a grave mis- 
take to suppose that the same remarks about 
head, neck, back, legs, feet, and so on do not 
apply with equal pertinency to the one as to the 
other. Remembering always that weight is of 
great help in pulling a load, — a horse with a 
heavy man on his back can pull a big load up a 



2o8 Driving 

hill that without the weight on his back he could 
scarcely move, — the other general definitions of 
what constitute a good horse apply to all classes. 
A straight-shouldered horse is less noticeable and 
less uncomfortable in harness than under saddle ; 
a slab-sided, ragged-hipped, goose-rumped animal 
well covered with heavy harness in a brougham 
is less offensive than under saddle, but such an 
one is a poor specimen wherever he is. 

The ideal way, however, to cultivate an eye for 
a horse is to study his make-up externally and 
internally from the plates of the skeleton and the 
internal parts (Plates XVI. and XVII.); to bear 
in mind what his ancestry is ; to note the relation 
of the parts to one another, and the position of 
his various organs ; to study carefully the dispo- 
sitions, abilities, strength, and weaknesses of the 
horses that you know well ; and to come to your 
conclusions with this knowledge and experience 
in the back of your brain. To be able to gabble off 
the points of a horse memoriter avails about as 
much as to know the letters of the alphabet avails 
to write one of Rossetti's sonnets. Even then 
you will make mistakes ; but to enjoy the sport 
of owning and using horses, either in harness or 
under saddle, one cannot know too much, either 
theoretically or practically. 

Although this volume is included in a library 
on sport, it should never be forgotten that in 



Points of the Horse 209 

dealing with every branch of sport, particularly 
where live animals are trained and used by the 
sportsman, a very serious ethical element enters. 
No man who knows nothing about horses, no 
matter how charitable he may be, no matter how 
ecclesiastically regular he may be, no matter how 
conspicuously tender-hearted he may be to chil- 
dren, insects, and the poor, has any business on a 
horse or behind a horse. First, because he is 
almost invariably cruel to the horse; and sec- 
ondly, because he is endangering the lives of 
other people. How often I have seen Piety in 
the saddle, sawing the tender bars of the horse's 
mouth, and sliding back and forth from pommel to 
cantle of the saddle, excoriating the tender skin 
and flesh beneath. How often I have seen 
Philanthropy and Worth driving horses with 
cruel bearing-reins, traces too long, pole-straps 
too tight, coupling-reins of the same length for 
the long-necked and the short-necked horse, 
belly-band tight and girth loose, bit too wide, 
nose-band flapping up and down, and breeching 
too tight or too loose. Little did Philanthropy 
and Worth realize that these things were as un- 
comfortable to the horse as tight shoes, trousers 
too long, coats too small, collars too tight, and a 
toothache and headache to them. It is because 
sport has been handled in this country to such 
a large extent by the professional and by the 



2IO Driving 

uncultivated, that its prime value as a teacher of 
practical and economic morality has been over- 
looked. 

Above all things, do not imagine that, because 
you own one or more horses and stroke their 
necks occasionally, that you know a horse when 
you see one. Such knowledge does not come 
by cutaneous friction nor by money. A wise 
man has three attributes always ; he may have 
more, but he must have these: (i) he is never 
afraid to ask questions ; (2) he is thankful for 
the many things he does not want; (3) he knows 
when he does not know things. Therefore, ask 
questions and make no pretence. The most ill- 
informed man I ever met is one who has never 
failed to answer every question asked him, and 
who never asks one himself. It is needless to 
say that he is a failure in his profession, a bore 
socially, and an encyclopaedia of voluble mis- 
information. 



CHAPTER V 

THE STABLE 

Once you have a horse, the next thing is to 
provide a place for him to live in. It may be 
better to keep a horse in a livery-stable rather 
than to have no horse at all, but certainly nine- 
tenths, and something more, of the pleasure of 
owning horses is lost if you have no stable of your 
own. There are three classes of stables, — good 
stables, bad stables, and magnificent stables ; just 
as there are three kinds of lies, — lies, damned lies, 
and statistics. Wise men have good stables and 
sometimes tell lies ; ignorant and bad men have 
poor stables and often tell damned lies ; gamblers 
and shoddy millionnaires — ! 

Whatever else they may have, good stables 
must infallibly have light, air, and good drainage. 
To accomplish these things, the stable should be 
above the level of the ground surrounding it, if 
only a few inches, to facilitate proper drainage. 
It should face preferably south or west, to get 
the largest possible amount of sunlight. Pay no 
attention to any talk about "a dark stable." It is 
an exploded notion. It is of course necessary to 



212 Driving 

be able to darken the part of the stable where the 
horses take their rest ; and it is a great convenience 
to have a box-stall or two, separated entirely from 
the others, where a horse may be kept quiet, cool, 
and out of the light. But if necessity demands a 
choice between light and darkness, choose the 
light every time. Sunlight is the best antiseptic 
in the world for either men or horses. 

The size of the stable depends upon the purse. 
It is not a question of the number of horses, 
because no horse owner was ever known to have 
all the horses he wanted. Just as every yacht 
owner wishes to add just ten feet to his yacht, 
so every man with a stable of horses could use 
just one or two more to advantage. It is a fair 
statement to work upon, however, that every 
horse in a stable is entitled, for his health and 
comfort, to nine hundred cubic feet of space, at 
least. Next to the proper allowance of food and 
water, this matter of good air in the stable is the 
most important of all. The gases given off 
through the lungs and skin, and those generated 
from urine, and faeces, are poisonous and irrita- 
ting. Coughs, colds, bad coats, swelled legs, 
general debility, are all due to badly ventilated 
stables, and if a contagious disease starts in such 
a stable, it is well-nigh impossible to save any one 
of the inmates. 

Bad ventilation does not mean necessarily that 



The Stable 213 

a stable is hot, nor good ventilation that a stable 
is cold. If properly managed, a stable may be 
so ventilated as to avoid either extreme. What 
is wanted is abundance of fresh air without 
draughts. All systems of ventilation are based 
upon the principle that heated air expands and 
ascends, so that the inlets should be below, the 
outlets above. The inlets should be so arranged 
that the cool air does not come in where it may 
blow upon the legs of the horses or make them 
uncomfortable w^hen lying down. 

All windows and doors should be kept in easy 
working order, so that it is no trouble to servants 
to open and close them. 

For after all has been said and done upon 
these matters theoretically, the practice will de- 
pend almost entirely upon the man or men in 
charge. I would rather have a poor stable, with 
a first-rate man in charge of it, than the best 
stable ever built, with a careless, indifferent, 
ignorant, and occasionally inebriate man in 
charge. No mechanical arrangements, no matter 
how minute and delicate in their serviceability, are 
of the slightest value when in control of the incom- 
petent. Spend time, thought, money, and patience 
in building yourself the best stable your purse 
permits; but in proportion spend even more in 
procuring the man who is to be at the head of it. 

When you get him, don't pamper him, or bribe 



2 14 Driving 

him, or kotow to him, — no self-respecting man 
is held by such bonds, — but make him your friend 
and run your stable jointly with him, respecting 
him in his capacity and retaining his respect for 
you in yours. 

Above all things, abjure the maudlin sentiment 
of the day, that there should be no master and no 
man. The universe, so far as telescope can see, 
the earth, from centre to rim, recognize love, law, 
and obedience. Every intelligent man is the 
servant of somebody, and ought to be proud of it ; 
if he is not, something is radically wrong with 
him or the master he has chosen to serve. Try 
to make the man in the stable proud of being 
your servant. If you succeed, everything will go 
well ; if you cannot accomplish this with love and 
law, then you will have to fall back upon some 
makeshift, like money, and get on the best you can. 
But make no mistake, and save yourself untold 
troubles by realizing at the start that money 
alone does not make good servants in the stable 
or anywhere else. The sailors who fought with 
Paul Jones, and the cavalry-men who rode with 
Phil Sheridan, were not thinking much of their 
pay. The manikin moved by money will spoil 
your stable, your temper, and your horses. Study 
carefully the characters of those who are contin- 
ually complaining of their servants ! 

The simpler the construction of the stable, the 



The Stable 215 

better. Have as few separate rooms and as few 
passageways as possible ; this means light, air, 
cleanliness, and convenience. If you are about to 
build a stable, go about among your friends, view 
their stables, and hear what they have to say from 
their experience. Money spent in practical in- 
spection before building will be saved many 
times over, in getting what you want, and, best 
of all, knowing why you want it. 

A few inches above the ground is enough for 
drainage; if the stable is higher than this, you 
have a pent to go up and down at the stable door. 
In winter this is dangerous, and at all times it 
frets the horses to slide out of the stable at the 
start-off. 

Your entrance door should be at least 10 feet 
6 inches wide and at least 10 feet 6 inches high. 

The ceilings in coach house, and over the 
stables, should be at least 12 feet high, and a foot 
or two more gives that much more air space. 

Windows in coach house, saddle room, harness 
room and cleaning room should be at a height 
convenient for opening and shutting and always 
in easy working order. Windows in stalls and 
boxes should have the lower sill at least 6 feet 3 
inches above the ground, so that the light shall 
not be in the horse's eyes and draughts shall not 
blow upon them. These windows should all 
have shutters on the outside, should hinge from 



2i6 Driving 

the bottom, let down from outside in, and be 
enclosed on the inside in a box to prevent side 
draughts. 

The stalls should be at least 9 feet long, though 
10 feet is not too long, and at least 5 feet 7 inches 
wide, though a narrower stall may prevent a horse 
getting cast. If there are stalls on both sides, or 
stalls on one side, and boxes on the other, the aisle 
between should be at least 10 feet wide, that the 
horse may be brought out and turned comfortably. 

If possible, have one or two box-stalls com- 
pletely detached from the other stalls and boxes, 
for sick horses, for horses needing rest and quiet, 
and for new horses that may come into the stable 
with distemper. 

If there are living rooms over the stable, do not 
have them over the horses. Horses ought to be 
allowed to sleep in peace. 

The coach-house floor should be preferably of 
wood on account of dampness, though cement is 
cheaper, and in a well-aired and dry stable is good 
enough. 

The aisle between stalls should be of brick, or 
of well-laid small flint brick, laid in mortar, and 
with the lines running parallel to one another, 
and not in herring-bone fashion, so that a hose 
and a stable broom can thoroughly cleanse the 
cracks. Any other arrangement requires a knife 
to get all the dirt away. 



The Stable 217 

The stalls should have brick floors, or brick or 
cement, with a slatted wooden floor over it. There 
are advocates of wood alone and brick alone for 
the stall floor; the slats are a fair compromise. 
These slats should run down the centre of the stall, 
beginning some 4 feet from front of stall. The 
slats should be held together with iron rods, and 
either pull out bodily or move on hinges, so that 
the stall may be washed out thoroughly with the 
hose. The partitions between stalls should be 
7 or 8 feet high in front and 5 or 6 behind. It 
is well to leave a few inches of space between 
the partitions and the wall in front, and between 
the bottom of the partitions and the floor, for 
circulation of air. 

The ideal stall would have both a box-drain in 
the centre, and a drain running at the bottom 
from one end of the line of stalls to the other 
at a slight incline. The latter is sufflcient, how- 
ever. Horses should stand as nearly as possible 
on a level. A slope of one in eighty is enough 
for drainage. 

Box-stalls should have a centre drain with a 
well-secured top to prevent accident. All drain- 
age in stables should be surface drainage. Per- 
mit no underground pipes, traps, or drains in 
your stable ! Boxes should be at least 10 feet 6 
by 12 feet. 

It is claimed by practical horse owners of long 



2i8 Driving 

standing that no more straw is used in stalls and 
boxes with brick floors than in those with wooden 
or wooden slat floors, and that the former are 
cleaner. It goes without saying that the less 
wood and iron you have in stalls and boxes, the 
better. They rust, corrode, get soaked, and smell. 
In a well-kept stable your nose should not be a 
factor in the recognition of the fact that you are 
in a stable. 

The harness room should be of wood through- 
out, ceiling as well, to avoid dampness. Unless 
you have dozens of sets of harness, some of which 
are seldom used, and therefore conveniently kept 
in cases, cover your harness-room walls with baize 
stuff, and have your harnesses in the full blaze of 
all the light and publicity there is. They will be 
kept better. 

Have a box with a baize stuff back and a glass 
door for bits, chains, etc., and have it too big 
rather than too small. 

Harness room, coach house, saddle room, and 
cleaning room should each have a place for a stove. 

There should be no artificial heat where the 
horses are kept. Well-blanketed horses can be 
kept without injury even in an occasional tem- 
perature of 30°, as happened frequently in many 
stables during the severe winter of 1903-4. Such 
a temperature is not good for them, but even that 
is much better than artificial heat incompetently 
superintended. 



The Stable 



219 



Six or seven horses in one stable are enough. 
They have more air, more quiet, are kept cleaner, 
and the coming and going makes less disturbance 
and does not change the temperature of the stable 
so violently. 

In this climate a stable of wood is cheaper, 
cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and, at all 
times, drier. 

After studying a number of stables and experi- 
menting with my own, I should build a stable -r- 




PLATE XV. — STABLE PLAN 



say to accommodate seven horses, or fourteen at a 
pinch — as follows: coach house to stand fourteen 
vehicles (Plate XV.). The building to face south 
or west. Horses to face, the majority of them, 
to the north. Ground floor 4 inches above the 
outside ground. Entrance door to slide and to 
be 10 feet 6 inches wide and the same in height. 
The ideal thing, of course, is to be able to drive 



2 20 Driving 

through your stable by having another door oppo- 
site your entrance door. It only diminishes the 
wall space, and is convenient in many ways, espe- 
cially in a country stable, where you may wish to 
stand a horse and trap indoors. Drive in the door 
on to carriage wash, sloping toward drain in centre, 
this to be of cement. Sliding door to the right ad- 
mitting to the stables, with six stalls facing north 
and two box-stalls facing south. Space lofeet by 
lo feet for cleaning harness, between box-stall and 
wall that separate carriage wash from stables, with 
a door at the end, half door preferred, furnished with 
hooks and two telescope harness-hangers, water- 
trough, and shelves. Aisle, lo feet wide between 
stalls and box-stalls, laid in vitrified brick, all lines 
between bricks running into one another both 
lengthwise and sideways for greater convenience 
in cleaning. Drain in centre of each box-stall, 
and covered drain running at foot of stalls. 
Covers of all drains removable, and drains to 
be easily washable with hose. Stalls floored 
with brick, box-stalls of the same. Half door at 
end of aisle to face large door leading into car- 
riage wash. In this climate, screens on all doors 
and windows for summer. Windows as described. 
Feed and hay to come down shafts on one side of 
space allotted to harness cleaning. Trough in 
that space with cold water only. Hot water to 
be furnished by boiler on stove in carriage house. 



The Stable 221 

No separate harness cleaning room in a stable of 
this kind. The rough work can be conveniently 
done in the space described, and the polishing, 
dusting, etc., in the harness room. This saves an 
extra room, probably dark, and at any rate another 
room to be kept clean. Carriage house to the 
left of carriage wash, preferably floored and 
ceiled with wood, with hospital, or rounded cor- 
ners and edges, so that it can be readily and 
thoroughly cleaned, 25 by 35 feet, which will 
easily contain twelve to fifteen vehicles. 

Harness room to be entered from end of car- 
riage wash opposite entrance door, to be eleven 
by twenty-four, walls lined with baize and fur- 
nished with fixtures for harness, saddles, whips, etc. 
Two extra box-stalls, tool room, water-closet, and 
separate entrance, with stairs to living rooms above, 
built out from southwest angle of carriage house. 
These box-stalls to have half doors, if possible, 
opening into a small paddock and floored with 
dirt or peat moss. Forty dollars' worth of Miss 
Hewitt's well-made hurdles will make you a very 
useful paddock and save scores of dollars in veter- 
inary bills. By all means have cleats to form a 
ladder on the wall of the hay-shaft, so that the man 
can get directly and quickly to his horses in case 
of accident or danger. Poles, fastened to the wall 
with hinges, so that they are not in the way when 
not used, along the walls of the carriage house, for 



2 22 Driving 

robes, and rests for poles themselves. Chests 
lined with tin for travelling and for storing win- 
ter or summer clothing, blankets, robes, etc. 

Hay should be fed from the floor, not from 
overhead mangers. Feed boxes and water-recep- 
tacles movable, that they may be from time to 
time taken out to be scoured and sunned. Horses 
watered with water-buckets and not by having 
water in stalls always at hand. As regards this 
practice, the theory is indisputable, but in practice 
you have dirty water, stale water, water when horses 
are heated or just after meals, unless you have first- 
class servants ; and if you have these, the buckets 
are safer and save that much plumbing — the less 
of which you have in a stable, the better. In such 
a stable you drive your carriage in on to the wash. 
The horses are unhooked and taken into the 
stables, where if it is a raw day the door may be 
closed. The harness is taken off, hung on hooks, 
and the horses are cared for. The harness is 
then cleaned and taken to the harness room, where 
it may be given finishing touches. The carriage 
is washed down and run into its place, and all with 
the very minimum of going and coming and so ar- 
ranged that no dirt need be carried across clean 
spaces. Horses, carriages, and harness are all 
landed where they are to be first cared for, and 
are then close to where they belong when cleaned. 
This of course is an economical plan, and is not 



The Stable 223 

intended to describe the ideal stable. It is merely 
an ideal stable for a man of moderate means. 

Once a week, weather permitting, all carriages 
should be aired and sunned outside. It may be 
said, however, that a thoroughly dry carriage 
house is better than even this much exposure to 
the sun, with the effect of fading cushions, trim- 
mings, etc. Saddles should always be dried in 
the sun when possible. Once a week, too, the 
coach house should be cleaned and dusted. Once 
a week horses should be moved from their stalls 
to other stalls or box-stalls, bedding removed, 
slats lifted or taken out, if there are slats, and the 
stable flushed and broomed out thoroughly and 
sprinkled with disinfectant and water. I have 
known stables where there has not been a sick 
horse for years, except in the case of new horses 
with distemper. The temperature of a stable is 
best between 50° to 70°. The nearer it is kept 
at 65° the year round, the better. 

Into the details of fixtures, implements, archi- 
tectural and plumbing minutiae, it is not the pur- 
pose of this small volume to go. There are books 
which cover this ground completely, accurately, 
and in great detail, the titles of which may be 
found in the Bibliography. 

Although only the ground plan of a stable is 
outlined and described here, the rooms above the 
stable are important. The coachman, with or 



2 24 Driving 

without family, should live in the stable, and it is 
convenient to have the undermen there too if 
possible. Horses should never be left to take 
care of themselves through the night. The liv- 
ing rooms should be properly ventilated, heated, 
and provided with bath rooms, and everything 
within reason done to make those who care for 
the horses at least as comfortable as the horses. 

Racing stables, breeding stables, stables for 
twenty and thirty horses, are subjects in them- 
selves, although the principles outlined here 
must of necessity obtain in a good stable of what- 
ever size and for whatever purpose. There are two 
stables, that I have seen, and probably others, 
where money has waved experience to one side, 
and insisted upon this or that, where a pliant 
architect has obeyed, and they are both useless. 
There is such a thing — it was discovered in these 
cases — as having a stable too big, and of attempt- 
ing to house too many horses under one roof. 



CHAPTER VI 

FEEDING AND STABLE MANAGEMENT 

Experience has shown that one man can care 
for three horses ; that two men can care for seven ; 
three men are needed for ten, and so on. But 
even this must be modified. Where the members 
of the family live in the country and do most of 
their own driving, these figures are correct, but in 
an establishment where two men are required on 
the box with one or more vehicles, and a groom 
must accompany each trap, and there is, to boot, a 
fair amount of riding, additional help is needed in 
the stable, if everything is to go smoothly; and 
horses, harnesses, saddles, and carriages are to be 
turned out well. 

The whole problem of the care and system of a 
stable centres around the horse, and more particu- 
larly the horse's stomach. No animal, in propor- 
tion to its size, has such a small stomach as a 
horse. The stomach of a man, whose weight is 
one-eighth of that of a horse, will hold something 
more than three quarts of water; vdiile the stom- 
ach of a horse will only hold three gallons, or four 
times that quantity. The great bulk of the horse 

Q 225 



226 Driving 

requires a large quantity of food, and what food 
he eats digests and passes through him quickly. 
If this were not so, the stomach would for a large 
part of the time be so distended and so press 
upon other organs of the body that his usefulness 
would be seriously impaired. 

He must, therefore, be fed regularly and often, 
that is to say, three times a day at least, and four 
times is better. The management of the stable 
must hinge, therefore, upon the meal hours of its 
inmates and their use by the owners — where 
horses must do duty at an early train in the morn- 
ing and another train in the evening, or where 
horses are out shopping from ii a.m. to 1.30 p.m. 
and there is driving and riding in the afternoon, 
and night duty as well, the routine of the stable 
must be adapted to those demands. 

In the case of a large stable, where three or four 
men are kept, a regular routine of duty should be 
laid out as on shipboard, with hours and duties 
clearly set down, otherwise confusion will reign. 
In a small stable the requirements of the family 
should be so far as possible along regular lines, 
and in all cases everywhere no coachman or 
groom ought to be subjected to calls for horses 
without warning. By nine o'clock in the morn- 
ing the orders for horses wanted up to noon 
should be given; by two o'clock the orders for 
horses wanted up to eight o'clock. This cannot 



Feeding and Stable Management 227 

be done always, but it ought to be done so far 
as possible, otherwise the best-natured and most 
systematic man in the world will find it impos- 
sible to keep his stable running smoothly, his 
horses fed and watered and dressed at the proper 
times, and, most important of all, his horses ready 
for work when they are needed. 

A horse just watered, or with a stomach full of 
hay, or with a hearty feed in him, is perhaps the 
most uncomfortable of all conveyances, and if 
worked hard under the circumstances does him- 
self serious injury. 

There is no real pleasure, no real sport, in this 
world that does not entail intelligence and labor. 
It is one of the greatest of pleasures, one of the 
most wholesome sports, to own, to ride, and to 
drive horses. But to have a stable of, say, from 
three to ten horses and to get your own fun out 
of it, requires work, intelligence, and oversight. 

Visit your friends who have horses and see how 
often this horse cannot go out, that horse cannot 
go out. One is lame, another has a sore back, 
another is used up from yesterday, and so on. 
Or look about you at the condition of your neigh- 
bors' horses, — tired-looking, staring coats, bags 
of bones to look at, rattling carriages and ill- 
fitting harnesses, interfering, and overreaching; 
and these establishments cost money and are sup- 
posed to give pleasure. 



2 28 Driving 

How shall we avoid all this ? If you have no 
interest in your stable and have no time, say half 
an hour a day, to devote to it, and no other mem- 
ber of the family knows or cares anything about 
it, by all means job your horses and do not 
attempt a stable. At least you can avoid being 
particeps criminis in the ruining of horses, the 
spoiling of coachmen and grooms, and the waste- 
ful destruction of harnesses and carriages. 

But if you have a stable, look after it. Provide 
yourself with a Stable Book ; a long-leaved book of 
a hundred and fifty pages, — the left-hand page 
with the month at the top and thirty-one spaces 
below for days of the month. At the top as head- 
ings have Feed — Shoeing — Repairs — Cash — 
Miscellaneous. On the right-hand page have 
blank space for Remarks and any details about 
horses, veterinary visits, horses bought or sold. 
The coachman should enter against the proper 
dates what horses are shod and how, what feed 
comes in, all articles, including clothes, purchased, 
and all other details. This book comes in at the 
end of the month, to be compared with the 
owners' bills, and he should add the amounts and 
check off the items. Both the coachman and the 
owner should know to a penny what the stable is 
costing. 

We have all probably discovered that we do 
not know where to save, if we do not know how 



Feeding and Stable Management 229 

we spend. The beginning of all economy is the 
knowledge of expenditures. It may be main- 
tained just here that all this is too much trouble! 
Those who feel that way had best close the book. 
Neither this chapter nor any of the others is 
written for those who know it all, — of whom, 
alas, there are so many, — nor for those who 
do not wish to know anything which entails 
trouble. 

The necessary implements for the work of the 
stable should be furnished willingly, and buckets, 
hose, forks, hangers, clothes, chamois, hooks, 
brooms, sponges, should be kept in repair or 
renewed. It is a poor plan to economize at the 
working end of the stable. One or two horses 
or traps less, or a groom less, but let what you 
have be good of its kind and be kept good. 

Once a week the stable should be washed out, 
polished, and dusted, and sprinkled with Sanitas 
or some other good disinfectant, and the owner 
should, as they say on shipboard, have "quarters." 
Look over everything from end to end ; if you do 
not take that much interest in the matter, it is not 
likely that the executive officer at the stable will 
retain a very enthusiastic interest in the affairs of 
the stable for long. A man with half an eye can 
tell, from the horses, harnesses, and vehicles he 
sees, whether the owners cooperate with their 
coachmen or not. 



230 Driving 

A man should be able to groom a horse thor- 
oughly in from thirty to forty minutes, and this 
work should be done, if possible, away from the 
other horses. 

A good routine for stable management can 
only be worked out by each man for himself, ac- 
cording to the regular demands upon the stable 
from the family, as a basis. 

Although horses are kept primarily to work, it 
is by no means easy, although of all things most 
necessary, that they should havfe exercise regu- 
larly. Many of the accidents and much of the 
illness in most stables arise from irregular ex- 
ercise and careless feeding. The average horse 
in the private stable should be out two hours a 
day, and should do ten miles. With one day's 
rest in seven, seasoned horses can do more than 
this — up to fifteen, and even more, miles a day — 
and be the better for it. 

Their muscles harden, respiratory organs are 
less liable to disease, and, strange as it may sound 
to the uninitiated, their feet and legs do better, 
even when the work is on hard roads. Swelled 
legs, founder, azoturia, colic, and the like are more 
often the result of overfeeding and under exercis- 
ing than the reverse. 

If the feet are washed out when the horse re- 
turns to the stable — being careful to dry the 
legs thoroughly — and stopped at night with a 



Feeding and Stable Management 231 

sponge or bit of thick felt, these precautions, 
with regular exercise and judicious feeding, will 
do more than anything else to keep your horses 
in condition to go when you want them. Coach- 
manitis and groomaturia sometimes interfere with 
the owner's wish to use his horses ; and where 
this malady is of frequent occurrence, a prolonged 
holiday is the only remedy. 

There are some men who are constitutionally 
unfitted to get on with men under them. They 
are not necessarily bad men, but, from their golf 
caddy to their butlers and secretaries, they are 
disliked. One woman will run her house year 
after year without friction ; another, of the bump- 
tious variety, will supervise the whole universe, 
while her husband, children, and household drift, 
growl, and suffer. One man will step aboard a 
yacht, and his crew and officers will pull and haul 
and quarrel and leave ; while another, with the 
same men, will have no trouble. The writer has 
no prescription to offer for the curing of fussy 
wives or bad masters. It is not to be expected 
that even the Almighty will create a man who 
shall combine the attributes of Oliver Cromwell 
and Heinrich Heine. But in this matter of the 
management of the stable there are a few rules 
worth keeping in mind. 

Don't use your influence till you get it ! 

Don't worry yourself or others about trifles ! 



232 Driving 

In the vital matters of honesty, sobriety, care- 
fulness, neatness, be insistent and positive. 

Don't put on airs about things of which you 
know less than your coachman. 

Don't show your damned authority — as the 
Irishman with his pig — just for the pleasure of 
showing it ! 

Horses, no doubt, lived upon grasses and the 
like when they cared for themselves. Horses 
even now can do a certain amount of slow work 
upon hay alone, but to do this a large quantity is 
needed, say from eighteen pounds to twenty 
pounds. But by a mixture of food a horse can 
be made to do more and faster and more ex- 
hausting work. 

Hay — good hay — is short, fine, agreeable to 
smell and taste, hard and crisp, and is generally 
mixed with clover, and the best hay is one year 
old — is the basis of all feeding. An average 
allowance is about twelve pounds a day, with 
the larger quantity given at night. A little hay 
also at noon helps digestion. If a horse is 
wanted for fast work, eight pounds of hay is 
enough. A horse does his work more comfort- 
ably to himself if his stomach is somewhat empty 
rather than distended with hay. The feeding 
of the hay should be regulated so that the animal 
is not given his hay just before going to work, 
but at the meal after he comes in. Many coach- 



Feeding and Stable Management 233 

men are great believers in chopped hay or chaff. 
There is not much saving in feeding hay in this 
way — none at all if it is bought already in the 
form of chaff — although a little chaff mixed with 
the other food requires more time in mastication 
and hence is better for digestion. Hay should be 
fed from the bottom of the stall. 

Oats — good oats are heavy, thin-skinned, 
clean, hard and sweet, and without musty smell. 
Good oats will weigh from 42 to 45 pounds to 
the bushel ; fair oats, 38 to 40 pounds. Horses 
in average work should have from eight to ten 
quarts of oats a day. Where the work of the 
horses is severe, they should have as much 
as they want. The cavalry allowance is 
ten quarts a day, which is a good medium 
allowance. The rations of oats should be in- 
creased or decreased according to the amount of 
work the horse is doing. Oats may be boiled or 
steamed, may be flavored with ginger or a little 
" black jack " molasses, or even mixed with a few 
slices of apples for nervous or bad feeders. If a 
horse gobbles his feed, it is well to sprinkle his 
oats with dry bran, or to mix them with chaff. 

Barley, beans, peas, are not much used in pri- 
vate stables, though beans for a horse in hard 
work or for fattening are valuable. A quart of 
crushed beans mixed with the other food at night 
is recommended. They should be at least a year 



2 34 Driving 

old, weigh from 60 to 64 pounds to the bushel, 
and be hard, plump, and sweet. 

Corn is used largely in the West for horses, but 
seldom in the East, in private stables. It is a 
strong, fattening food, and, served to the horses 
on the ear, is good for teeth and gums, and makes 
them eat slowly. It should not be fed in quan- 
tity, but as a change, or a cob or two at a time 
with other food. 

Bran — should be dry, sweet- tasting, free from 
mould — is not exactly an article of food. It may 
be fed with other feed, but is usually given once 
or twice a week in the form of a mash, preferably 
the night before a day of light work or no work 
at all. 

Linseed is an aperient, like bran, and is used 
to moisten food that is too constipating, and is 
recommended strongly by some authorities in the 
form of a mash mixed with bran or as a jelly in 
the case of horses out of condition and needing a 
palatable stimulant. It is also conducive to 
glossiness of coat and healthiness of skin, but 
unless used sparingly affects the wind. 

Apples^ boiled potatoes^ carrots^ black molasses^ 
clover^ or other fresh forage may all be used 
as a change of diet. This last should be given 
sparingly at first, for it is often the cause of 
serious trouble when given in quantity all at once. 

Carrots are altogether the best substitute for 



Feeding and Stable Management 235 

fresh grass. They can be given without harm, 
occasionally, the year round, either alone or 
mixed with other food — always cut up length- 
wise, otherwise the horse may choke on them. 

Remember, always, the smallness of the horse's 
stomach in feeding him. When left to himself, 
he will graze all day long, eating, however, but 
little at a time. When he comes in tired, give 
him a little food, a mash or gruel, or, if he is to 
have a hard day, carry a little oatmeal and a 
bottle of Bass for his luncheon. If you are 
caught far from home with a tired horse, almost 
any house can furnish oatmeal, warm water, and, 
if procurable, a small amount of stimulant added, 
and this, with a good rubbing down, will make 
another horse of your tired beast. 

Though the stomach of the horse is small, 
his water capacity is large. The water he drinks 
does not remain in the stomach, but passes 
directly through it, and the small intestines to 
the caecum (one of the large intestines). Except 
where a horse is ill, overheated, or overtired, 
he may be allowed to drink as much as he will. 
Horses should always, too, be watered before they 
are fed, for reasons obvious from what has been 
said of the horse's stomach. Horses should be 
watered the last thing at night, say 10 p.m. No 
horse should be tortured by being kept without 
water from 7 p.m. till 6 a.m. This is cruelty and 



236 Driving 

soon tells on the horse to his great and very 
perceptible disadvantage. Even horses coming 
in from work in warm weather may have a small 
quantity, but only a small quantity, of water while 
they are being cooled out and rubbed down. No 
overheated, tired horse should be allowed to fill 
himself up with cold water ; neither, on the 
other hand, should he be kept in a raging thirst 
indefinitely. 

Salt is so necessary a part of the horse's diet 
that it is best to have a piece of rock salt weigh- 
ing two or three pounds always in his manger, 
rather than to leave it to his feeders to give him 
so much at each meal, which often results in an 
irregular supply. 

Express companies and other large owners 
and users of horses have been experimenting 
with molasses as a food. It has been used, too, 
in both the French and German armies. One 
quart of molasses, three quarts of water, one 
and one-half pounds of corn meal, one and one- 
half pounds of bran, and six pounds of cut hay, 
is the proper mixture for one horse, and should 
be fed morning and evening, with some dry oats 
at noon. This is, of course, very much cheaper 
than the usual methods of feeding, and in a num- 
ber of cases has proved successful. The writer 
has seen horses fed upon this diet ; they did the 
slow and heavy work in large brewers' wagons. 



Feeding and Stable Management 237 

and looked sleek and well, and were said to do 
their work as well if not better than on the old 
system of feeding. It is difficult to use molasses 
in private stables, particularly in summer, when 
it attracts flies and sours when left in the 
manger, but it is a good adjunct to the bill of 
fare in any stable, and anything that gives vari- 
ety and is wholesome is valuable as a food. 

Table. — Nutritive Value of Certain Articles of Diet 
IN 100 Parts 



articles 


Water 


Albumi- 
nates 


Fats 


Carbo- 
hydrates 


CCILU- 
LCSE 


Salts 


Grass, before blossom 


75.0 


3-0 


0.8 


12.9 


7.0 


2.0 


Grass, after blossom . 


69.0 


2.5 


0.7 


15.0 


II.5 


2.0 


Meadow hay . . . 


14-3 


8.2 


2.0 


41-3 


30.0 


6.2 


Oats . . 






14-3 


12.0 


6.0 


60.9 


10.3 


30 


Barley . . 






14-3 


9-5 


2.5 


66.6 


7.0 


2.6 


Maize, Indian 






12.9 


9-23 


I.S9 


68.0 


5.0 


1.66 


Peas . . . 






14-3 


22.4 


2.5 


52-3 


9.2 


2.5 


Beans . . 






14.5 


25.5 


2.0 


45-5 


ii.S 


3-5 


Rice . . . 






14.6 


7-5 


0.5 


76.5 


0.9 


0.5 


Linseed 






11.8 


21.7 


37-0 


17-5 


8.0 


4.0 


Bran . . 






13-Jt 


14.0 


3-8 


50.0 


17.8 


5-1 


Carrots . . 






85.0 


1-5 


0.2 


10.8 


17 


I.O 


Linseed cake 






12.4 


27-3 


12.8 


34-5 


6.5 


6.1 






Represent 
muscle- 
forming 
ingredi- 
ents 


Mainte- 
nance of 
animal 
heat 


Waste- 
repairing 
ingredi- 
ents 


Woody- 
fibre 
ingredi- 
ents, 
stimulate 
digestion 
and sepa- 
rate richer 
particles 
of food 





238 



Driving 



Table. — Common Weights and Measures 



I quart oats = i pound 

I quartern oats = 2 pounds 
I peck oats = 8 pounds 

I bag oats = 65 pounds 

(i lb. for the weight of bag) 



2 pints oats 
2 quarts oats 
8 quarts oats 
4 pecks oats 
2 bushels oats 



= I quart 
= I quartern 
= I peck 
= I bushel 
= I bag 



I ton hay = 2000 pounds 

I bale hay = 300 pounds (varies 

50 pounds) 
I ton loose hay occupies about 

500 cubic feet 
I ton baled hay occupies space 

of about 10 cubic yards 
I ton straw = 2000 pounds 
I bale straw = 250 pounds (varies 

50 pounds) 
I ton loose straw occupies space 

of about 600 cubic feet 
I ton baled straw occupies space 

of about 12 cubic yards 



CHAPTER VII 

FIRST AID TO THE INJURED 

It is a dangerous thing for owners to doctor 
their own horses, unless they are practically vet- 
erinarians by experience, or profession. It is 
even more dangerous to leave such matters to 
the man in the stable. An omniscient coach- 
man can do more harm to his cattle than all 
other evil surroundings combined. To treat a 
horse for a wrongly diagnosed malady, with half- 
understood remedies, is the height of folly and 
the acme of cruelty. 

On the other hand, there are certain simple 
remedies and certain familiar maladies, of which 
the horse-owner ought to know something for his 
own, and his horse's protection. 

The range of pulse per minute in a healthy 
adult horse is from thirty-four to thirty-eight. 
In disease the range is from as low as twenty 
to as high as one hundred and twenty. The fore 
and middle finger should be placed transversely 
on the artery inside of the jaw, near the jowl, to 
feel the pulse. Do this often when your horses 
are in health, and thus accustom yourself to find 

239 



240 Driving 

the pulse instantly and to note its pulsations 
accurately in time of need. 

The average temperature of the horse is 
ioo° F., a third more or less. The tempera- 
ture of the horse is taken by the insertion of 
a clinical thermometer in the rectum, where 
it should remain five minutes. Horses register- 
ing a temperature as high as io6° have recov- 
ered, but above this death generally ensues. 
Nursing, in cases where the ordinary ailments 
are concerned, is better than blistering and fir- 
ing, which are more spectacular and to the half- 
ignorant more popular. 

Good laxative foods are green grass, green 
wheat, oats, or barley, carrots, parsnips, bran 
mash, linseed tea, hay tea, and linseed oil. 

A gallon of gruel may be made from a pound 
of meal put into cold water, placed on the fire 
and stirred till boiling, and then allowed to 
simmer till the water is thick. 

A bran mask should be made in a clean bucket ; 
three pounds of bran, one ounce of salt, two pints 
and a half of boiling water, covered and allowed 
to stand twenty minutes or so till it is cooked. 

A Bran and Linseed Mash. — Boil one pound 
of linseed slowly for two hours or more, add two 
pounds of bran, one ounce of salt ; the whole to 
be stirred up and allowed to steam. The thicker 
the mash, the better. 



First Aid to the Injured 241 

Linseed Tea. — Boil one pound of linseed in 
two gallons of water until the grains are soft. 

Hay Tea. — Fill a clean bucket with clean hay, 
then pour on as much boiling water as the bucket 
will hold, then cover and allow to stand till cool, 
when the liquid may be strained off and used. 

Linseed oil, from a quarter to half a pint daily 
may be mixed with the other food, keeps the 
bowels and skin in good condition; but no artifi- 
cial stimulant as food should be used constantly. 

In weakening diseases or low fever, or in cases 
of severe exhaustion, a quart of ale or porter, or a 
pint of port or sherry, may be given mixed with 
the mash. Oatmeal and ale are easy to carry, 
and a palatable mash can be made quickly of these 
with a little warm water almost anywhere, and 
nothing will help out a tired horse more. 

Common cold is an inflammation of the mucous 
membrane lining the nostrils and air passages. 
Symptoms are loss of appetite, staring coat, ten- 
dency to sweat easily, and discharge from the 
nostrils. Treatment : removal to loose box, plenty 
of fresh air, well blanketed if cold weather, band- 
ages for the legs, laxative diet, green food, warm 
mashes instead of oats, and plenty of water. If 
the irritation and cough continue and the running 
at the nose is bad, the head may be steamed by 
holding it over a pail of hot water. If the horse 
becomes and continues feverish, a dose of one to 



242 Driving 

two drams of nitrate of potash may be given daily 
for two or three days. Where the cold is accom- 
panied by sore throat and difhculty of swallowing, 
give nitrate of potassium, one dram to half a 
bucket of water three times a day. A good lini- 
ment to use on the throat and to be well rubbed in 
is mustard and water rubbed on and allowed to 
remain half an hour and then washed off, or two 
parts linseed oil, one part turpentine, and one part 
solution of ammonia. 

Colic is caused by bad food, change of diet, 
sudden exposure. The horse gives evidence of 
spasmodic pain, turns his head toward his flank, 
bites and kicks, and even rolls. As an immediate 
remedy, give a pint of gruel with two ounces spirit 
of nitrous ether, one ounce tincture of opium, and 
half an ounce of aromatic spirits of ammonia. 
There should be relief within the hour; if not, 
repeat the dose, and use oil and warm water as 
an injection. 

Diarrhoea^ in the form of scouring, may be a 
natural effort to get rid of some obnoxious sub- 
stance. Horses that are not well " ribbed up" 
or of a nervous temperament are prone to it. 
Feed dry food after giving a laxative of half a 
pint of raw linseed oil. Give an infusion of 
gentian, one ounce, and one to two ounces tincture 
of opium. 

Worms, — Several kinds of worms are found 



1 



First Aid to the Injured 243 

in the horse's intestines, but the most common 
is the bony white worm tapering at both ends. 
The horse loses condition in spite of a voracious 
appetite. After a fast of twelve hours, give a 
dose of two ounces of turpentine in a pint of 
linseed oil with half an ounce of tincture of 
opium. Injections of a weak solution of salt 
serve to clear away the smaller worms that 
inhabit the rectum. Change of food and salt 
are good. 

Irregular Teeth. — The molars sometimes grow 
into sharp edges. The horse feeds badly, " hogs " 
on one side of his mouth in driving, and shows 
sometimes sisrns of inflammation in the mouth. 
The remedy is the simple one of having the teeth 
filed down smooth and even. 

Scratches. — A very common condition of the 
skin in the hollow of the heel, sometimes called 
" cracked heels." It is caused by exposure to wet, 
cold, and dirt. The skin is inflamed and dry and 
a watery discharge exudes. Keep the parts dry 
and clean, wash with warm water and Ivory soap. 
Dust with powdered alum three times a day. Or 
apply a dressing composed of one part of carbolic 
acid to twenty of oil or glycerine and keep there 
with a soft bandage around the pastern and heel. 

Wounds and bruises, whether the skin is 
broken or not, should be carefully bathed in warm 
water, three parts of carbolic acid to one hundred 



244 Driving 

of water. Warm linseed poultices may then be 
applied. In all serious cases of this kind little 
more can be done than to relieve the animal till 
the veterinarian comes. In minor casualties, as 
cases of sprained tendons, bruises, and the like, a 
cooling antiseptic wash is : four ounces of witch- 
hazel, two ounces of spirits of camphor, two 
ounces of tincture of opium mixed in an equal 
amount of water. 

Splints. — Probably eighty per cent of horses 
have splints and not over five per cent remain 
lame from them. A splint is an enlargement or 
horny excrescence of a part of the shank bone. 
It is more common in young than old horses. 
Splints caused by striking in action, on the con- 
trary, are ample cause for judging a horse un- 
sound. 

When a splint begins forming, shave off the 
hair about it and rub in an ointment of biniodide 
of mercury for three days, then apply a strong 
blister. The best blister is composed of one 
ounce powdered Spanish flies, one ounce powdered 
resin, four ounces of lard. Mix the lard and resin, 
and then add the Spanish flies. After blistering 
a horse, his head must be tied up for forty-eight 
hours at least, to prevent his getting at the irri- 
tated part. 

Shoe boils are usually caused by the pressure 
of the shoe when the horse lies down. The boil 




PLATE XVI. — SKELETON OF THE HORSE 



Ureters 



.RectMiv 




PLATE XVIL — INTERNAL PARTS OF THE HORSE 



First Aid to the injured 245 

should be opened .:a a three per 

cent solution of ?. , injected. The 

horse must then wear a shoe-b«3il boot a 
Nail in the Foot. — Remove the nail and 

the wound as near the bottom as "' ' ' 

r . vi, 1 *• SKELETON, OF THE HORSE 

feet with a solution 01 carDolic acia, 

then linseed poultice the foot for two or \ 

J 1., Eye cavity . , \ i i 21. Great trochanter 

days aiiiv . ^' root be shod i a 

-' 2. Face bones , , . 22. Thigh bone 

Ieather3.s'i^^i3,^^^^^aled. A' 33. ischiurh;^ icmedy 

is to aj^' Molar teetlCe of Sr^'* 24. Radius, or forearm "tone 

banda^ Lower jaw? pn*-^ 25. Carpal, or knee bones 

QJl(^^.^JF'vc%\ vertebra of neck 26. Trapezium 

rj^i-.* ^y 7|. Second vertebra of neck 27. Cannon bones 

..'■ 8. Cervical vertebrae 28. Pastern bones 

9"/ Spiaal processes of back 29. Sesamoid bone 

two O'i^; Dorsal and lumbar vertebrae 30. Small pastern bone 

of 0|- 11. Sacrum 31. Upper end of leg bone 

preSSlil^ Tail bones, oing till hca 32. Stifle joint 

]gcrs ^^- Shoulder blade ^ ' 33. Leg bone, or tibia 

• _ 14. Hollow of shoulder blade 34. Point of hock 

IS t C , ; 1 1 1 ). I'.' i I. i 1, 

15. Upper end of arm bone . . 35. Hock joint 

_ >-^ 1 6. Arm bone, or "hunfierui'^ / ' ' 36. Head of small metatarsal bone 
of tinq^UElbowbone^ICa mixed in '37, Cannon of metatarsal bone 

Brairmh^. nees should be t- 38. Coffin bone 

and d^^-i Haunch 1 with a Solutio- 39. Fetlock 
fomen^t^.^"?'=^??"^OOd, and th 40. Patella, or stifle 

dressed with burned alum^br*^''^"'^ 
racic acid in equal parts dissoi 

Lamiintis or Foot Fc )\t the 

choes, pi '"'■" '^'^'"•*' *'- '' ,ai.: :>.... .vu hour, 
poultice t five days. As the 




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PLATE 



:RNAL PARTS OF THE HORSE 



First Aid to tJje Injured 245 

should be opened and drained and a three per 
cent solution of zinc sulphate injected. The 
horse must then wear a shoe-boil boot at night. 

Nail in the Foot. — Remove the nail and pare 
the wound as near the bottom as possible, disin- 
fect with a solution of carbolic acid, one in thirty, 
then linseed poultice the foot for two or three 
days and let the foot be shod with oakum and a 
leather sole till healed. An old-fashioned remedy 
is to apply a piece of salt pork, flesh side in, and 
bandage it on the part. 

Chafing^ Collar^ and Saddle Galls. — Properly 
fitting harness and saddles is the preventive. A 
mild astringent wash, say four ounces witch-hazel, 
two ounces spirits of camphor, two ounces tincture 
of opium, will serve, and the part to be without 
pressure or rubbing till healed. For inflamed 
legs or galled shoulders another excellent wash 
is : one ounce of sal ammoniac, seven ounces of 
vinegar, two ounces of spirits of wine, two drams 
of tincture of arnica mixed in half a pint of water. 

Broken knees should be thoroughly cleansed 
and disinfected with a solution of carbolic. Hot 
fomentations are good, and the wound should be 
dressed with burned alum or with alum and bo- 
racic acid in equal parts dissolved in water. 

Laminitis or Foot Founders. — Remove the 
shoes, place the feet in hot water for an hour, 
poultice twice a day for four or five days. As the 



246 Driving 

horse is without exercise, give him a gentle pur- 
gative, half to a quart of linseed oil, two drams of 
ginger, one dram nux vomica as a drench, then 
four ounces of nitrate of potash and four drams 
gentian, known as founder powder, daily. 

Chills, after violent exertion when the horse is 
unfit for work, or from undue exposure. Clothe 
warmly, rub ears and legs, and give stimulants, 
one and one-half ounce spirits of nitrous ether, 
one-half ounce aromatic spirits of ammonia to one 
pint of water, is a valuable remedy in any case of 
prostration. 

Strained or bruised tendons, — first hot fomen- 
tations, then a cooling lotion, such as vinegar and 
water; or two ounces witch-hazel, two ounces spirits 
of camphor, two ounces laudanum ; or four ounces 
acetate of ammonia, four ounces spirits of wine, 
eight ounces water. 

Lameness had best be left for diagnosis to the 
expert, unless the lameness is the result of injury 
and the seat of the trouble plainly visible. Firing 
and blistering should be a last resort. 

Do not expect too much of the veterinary; 
except in simple cases their task is often a blind 
one. The best way to save trouble is to begin 
at the beginning, by studying the horse, the 
stable, the food, and the care of the horses your- 
self ; and this elementary knowledge, with careful 
handling when the horses are in harness or under 



First Aid to the Injured 247 

saddle, make the best " ball," " drench," " lotion," 
or " fomentation " known. 

It is not intended in this chapter to suggest 
more than can be understood and carried out by 
an intelligent man, with a few simple and non- 
dangerous remedies. 

Rice-water gruel, made thick, is a soothing drink, 
and useful in continued scouring or diarrhoea. 

Alcohol IS to be rubbed into the skin of horses 
who are apt to chafe easily under harness or 
saddle. It hardens the skin. 

Vinegar and water is a cooling lotion. 

Fomentation means the continued application 
of hot cloths wrung out to the injured part. 

Purgative, a popular purgative is composed of 
eight parts of aloes, two parts of glycerine, one 
part powdered ginger, well-mixed and given in a 
dose of from six to eight drams. 

Linseed oil is also a purgative and less irri- 
tating than aloes ; the dose is from ten to thirty 
ounces. 

Stimulant, one ounce aromatic spirits of ammo- 
nia, one ounce tincture of gentian, one pint of 
water. Useful in all cases of severe prostration. 

Tonics. — The mineral tonics had best be left to 
the veterinary. A quart of good ale warmed and 
two drams of grated ginger is a simple cordial 
drench. A safe vegetable tonic is two ounces of 
tincture of gentian in a pint of water. A good 



248 Driving 

tonic powder is : two drams of gentian, two drams 
of ginger, one-half dram of fenugreek. 

For acidity of the stomach, and to prevent ten- 
dency to colic, a tablespoonful of bicarbonate of 
soda, powdered gentian, powdered ginger, mixed 
in equal parts and sprinkled over the feed, is 
harmless and a valuable minor tonic. 

To cool a horse quickly and effectively, dash 
water between the fore legs, between the hind 
legs, over the head, and down the back or spine. 
An overheated, almost prostrated, horse may 
often be saved serious if not fatal trouble in 
our hot climate by a bath of this kind. In pri- 
vate stables, water is seldom used, except on the 
feet, to wash out the mouth, eyes, sheath, and 
anus, and on the legs of white or gray horses. 
But this should not be taken as the article of a 
creed. A bath, or shampoo, all over does no 
horse harm, and all horses good, in our hot 
climate, if precautions are taken to dry them 
thoroughly and close the pores if necessary by 
a rub-down with alcohol. In cases of actual sun- 
stroke, souse the horse well, all over with water, 
if possible from a hose, and an easily prepared 
remedy is : an ounce of aromatic spirits of ammo- 
nia, two ounces of whiskey in half a pint of water 
— give this every hour, till the horse is relieved. 

Flexible collodion is a valuable remedy in any 
stable. In case of wounds or cuts that do not 



First Aid to the Injured 249 

need sewing, shave the hair about the cut, cleanse 
carefully, and apply the collodion with a camel's- 
hair brush ; this will keep the edges together, 
and in minor wounds no other remedy is 
necessary. 

Iodoform is one of the very best antiseptics 
for either man or beast, and may be dusted 
on wounds; or two parts of iodoform and eight 
parts of cosmoline make an ointment that may 
be a more convenient way of applying it. 

The well-known "white lotion" for bruises, 
sprains, inflammation, sore backs, shoulders, or 
any part of the animal rubbed by the harness 
or saddle, or by accident is : one ounce acetate of 
lead, one ounce sulphate of zinc mixed in a quart 
of water, to be used as a lotion. Nitrate of potas- 
sium is useful when you wish to promote the ac- 
tion of the skin and kidneys or to reduce fever. 
It should be given dissolved in the drinking-water 
in doses of from two drams to an ounce three 
times a day. It is the most valuable remedy 
known in cases of founder, and may be given in 
doses of from two to three ounces three times a 
day, and may be continued without danger for two 
or three days. 

Salicylic acid is another remedy, equally good 
for man or beast, as an antiseptic to be dusted 
upon wounds and indolent sores, proud flesh : for 
rheumatism, one dram of the salicylic acid with 



250 Driving 

two drams of bicarbonate of soda, given twice a 
day, is as good as anything. 

But when all is said and done on this subject, 
it must be repeated again and again that, regu- 
larity as to time, and variety as to fodder in feed- 
ing, plenty of water, regular exercise, peace and 
quiet during rest hours, a dry stable, thorough 
grooming, the eye of the master, and the interest 
of the man in the stable, — these taken daily in 
large doses make the best prescription in the 
world for the continued health and usefulness of 
your horses. - 

TABLES 

1 dram = \ ounce = teaspoonful 

2 drams = \ ounce = dessertspoonful 

3 drams = f ounce = one teaspoonful and one dessertspoonful 

4 drams = J ounce = two dessertspoonfuls 
8 drams = i ounce = four dessertspoonfuls 
2 ounces = wineglass ful 

4 ounces = teacupful 



Doses according to Age 



For a yearling . 
For a two-year-old 
For a three-year-old 
For a four-year-old 
For a five-year-old 



one-third of adult dose 
one-half of adult dose 
two-thirds of adult dose 
three-fourths of adult dose 
full dose, or adult dose 



CHAPTER VIII 

SHOEING 

The shoeing of horses was not known to the 
earliest users of horses. It is true the Romans 
used a sort of leather sock, with an iron plate 
beneath, and the extravagant Poppaea, the wife of 
Nero, had gold plates on her favorite horses, as 
wives of similar traditions to-day, have silver 
bath-tubs and satin sheets. 

When the monument to Childeric, the father of 
Clovis, the founder of the French monarchy, was 
discovered in 1653, a horseshoe was found therein. 
It was the custom then, as at one time among our 
own Indians, to bury the horse and his owner to- 
gether. 

Polydore Vergil writes, " Hos quoque Pele- 
thronios Thessaliae primos equorum ungulas 
munire ferreis soleis coepisse ferunt." 

As we have related in another chapter, William 
the Conqueror shod his horses. 

The horse's foot is so apparently the most im- 
portant part of him to his owner, that every horse 
owner should at least know the elementary first 
principles of the formation and shoeing of the 



252 Driving 

foot and should always bear in mind, " no foot 
no horse." The foot is a sensitive structure, with 
two bones and part of the third, viz. the cofBn- 
bone, navicular or shuttle bone, and the lower or 
smaller pastern bone enclosed in a horny case. 
This case is deepest in front where it is called the 
toe, and shallower at the sides which are called 
the quarters, and narrowest behind where it is 
called the heel. This outer case is fibrous, the 
fibres running from above to below as they grow 
from where the skin terminates, and consists of 
the outer case or wall and the bars, which are the 
continuation of the crust under the foot, and be- 
tween the triangle of which lies the frog. (Plate 
XIX.) 

The horse, as a wild animal left to care for 
himself, had a beautiful cushion, the frog, to run 
on, protected by the horny, tough case and bars, 
which renew themselves as do the nails of a man. 

Hard roads, heavy weights to carry and to pull, 
and confinement in stables developed shoeing as 
a necessity. 

Very few men own their horses ; the horses are 
generally, except for a legal right which is a 
formality, the property of the coachmen and the 
blacksmith. They dictate when, and how, and 
how far they shall go, and the owner for lack of a 
little study of the subject accepts their say-so. 

The feet of a horse do not wear out, as do his 




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252 



EXTERNAL PARTS OF THE HORSE 



foot 

no I 



1. Lips 



"" 


2. 


Nose 




3. 


Face 




4. 


Forehead 




5. 


Eyebrows 




6. 


Forelock 




7. 


Ears 




8. 


Lower jaw 


Lie 


9. 


Cheek 


cai' 


10. 


Nostril 


f: 


11. 


Poll 


f 


11a 


. Throat 


M-. 


12. 


Parotid gland 



13. Neck ^1 30. Forearm 

.I'tii Oi lilt Cl'i 
13a. Mane . 21. Chestnut 

' f" ^^ 3 Pi O" 1 1^ Oi ''''' 

14. Jugular' dnanYief 32. Knee 



'va>'S bear in mind, 'no foot 

17. Back .,. ,35. Pastern .., 

,„ „.^ ensitive stri. ^ ;vith 

18. Ribs 36. Coronet 

19. erf t^'i^^' vizgyll^of offin- 

20. Loin^)one, and t^s.' Fetidcftr or 

21. Croupsed in a 39. Haunchase. 

22. Tail ^ where it ^o- "^^igh the 
''■ ^°^^ides whicl^'- 2^"^^alled 

24. Flank , , . ,42. Buttock , 

_- ^ ,, -t behind .„ „ , . c is 

25. Belly _ 43. Gaskin 

26. Sheatli' ^^-^^^ ^^ 44. Hock ^^"^^ 

27. Testicles ^low ?.45. ChestnufOW 

28. Shoulder and arm 46. Shank: ■; i.f 

29. Elbow '_)a,l"S w f ''•^^*^°^'^ J°*"* 



,- ^-l,--> .f^S. Fetlock 

1 ine itiuL, ciiiu uc- 

, ^49. Pastern, 
51. Foot 

•ft to care for 



15. Chest 33. Shank 

16. Withers 34. Fetlock joint 

i:j.a a DcauiiiUi '.u-ii.uii, me trog, to run 
cted by the horny, tough case and bars, 
aew thems^Jj^(^ Ttee^ Wr^''^ '■'^ '^ man, 
roads, heavy weights to carry and to pull, 
-:neme^t in stables d^cg^^?^ fetekgng^cuiar 

a ./ ~ joint 

a. The coffin bone , . , 

V/.-,, , „n tne?r hor- Coronary ringrses are 

b. The lower or smaller pastern 

general] )3on^'-ce; .ral right wh^h is a 

lOriTc. The upper or larger pastern a. The corbhary rih5g the 
■ ' ■ bone ; • • , . , . 

d. The shank bp^ei 



cTf), ; 
e. The sesamoid bone 

/. The navicular^ or shuttle 

i he t<b^'4of a horse do 

w. Inner frog, sensitive 



b. ►Horny lining- .QS.\qruattld 

ck of a 



d.^The bars, 



e.. Inside of horny frog 
'/. Cleft of the frog , . 
g. The f?of ' as do his 
h. Outside wall or crust 




PLATE XVIIL — EXTERNAL PARTS OF THE HORSE 





PLATE XIX. — FOOT OF THE HORSE 



Shoeing 253 

teeth, for instance. An old horse may have, 
barring accident, just as good feet as a young 
one. Nature has provided amply for the renewal 
of the frog and the sole and the crust of the 
horse's hoof. But in order that this renewal 
should not be interfered with, the foot should be 
kept clean, moist, and well shod. As the foot is 
kept on hard substances in and out of the stable, 
and not as nature intended in contact with the 
moist ground, this moisture should be supplied 
artificially by stopping the feet once or twice a 
week. If the foot is not cleaned each time the 
horse comes in, the tender frog and sole become 
diseased; if the frog and sole are not mois- 
tened, but kept dry, the frog and sole crack, 
chip, and fail to renew themselves properly; if 
shoes too big or too small, or shoes that do not 
fit the crust and bars are put on, or if nails are 
put in carelessly or pulled out roughly, the foot 
contracts, corns appear, and you have a lame, an 
unnecessarily lame, horse on your hands. The 
fore feet are nearly circular in a healthy horse, the 
hind feet more oval in form. 

It is no economy not to shoe horses at least 
every three or four weeks, whether the shoes 
are worn out or not; for the simple reason that 
the shoes are nailed to a substance which is 
always growing, and after that interval of time the 
shoe no longer fits the foot. The shoe should be 



256 Driving 

of the horse will be the best for him. Do not 
allow paring of the sole and frog ; have light shoes 
properly fitted ; use as few nails as possible ; make 
the shoe to fit the foot, and permit no rasping, 
burning, and paring to fit the foot to the shoe ; 
do not allow the front of the hoof to be rasped. 
It must not be forgotten in this matter of shoe- 
ing that there are no muscles below the knee 
and the hock, and the muscles used to move 
the legs are high up. What weighs little at the 
shoulder or stifle weighs very much more at the 
end of the leg. Take a stick three feet long and 
put a pound-weight on it next your hand, then 
transfer the pound-weight to the end of the 
stick next the ground, and you see for yourself 
the difference. Or suppose in fencing you put 
a weight equal to the handle, where the button is, 
and the difference in using the weapon is enor- 
mous. A horse shod with shoes unnecessarily 
heavy is at just that disadvantage ; therefore it is 
of the utmost importance both for his comfort 
and your safety that he should be shod as lightly 
as is compatible with the work required of him. 
In fitting the shoe, great care should be taken 
that both sides of the hoof are of the same height. 
If they are not of the same height, the whole foot 
is thrown out of plumb; this twists the delicate 
joints of leg and pastern and leads to disease. 
In the majority of cases that I have noticed, 



Shoeing 257 

the inside of the foot is left higher than the 
outside. 

The horse left without shoes does not suffer 
from corns, thrush, " speedy-cut," sand-cracks, 
quittor, and the like. On the contrary, he devel- 
ops and keeps in condition a foot wonderfully 
well adapted to carry him and hold him. He 
has a wonderful cushion to run on and take the 
jar off, enclosed in a fibrous case of horn. The 
care of the foot and the shoeing thereof should 
leave as much to nature and as little to the black- 
smith as possible. Artificial conditions make iron 
shoes necessary, but except for the heaviest kind 
of work on the roughest and hardest roads the 
less shoe, the fewer nails, and the less paring and 
rasping of the foot, the better. The cavalry in 
this country do not shoe the horses on the hind 
feet unless special service requires it. 

Where a horse interferes or forges, certain 
changes in his shoeing may help matters. In 
interfering, unless it arises from bad malforma- 
tion, the height of the shoe may be increased on 
the inside, or a three-quarter shoe used on the 
outside; or, if this fails, the exact opposite may 
be tried. The so-called Charlier shoe, which fits 
into a bevelled hollow around the crust, suits 
some horses. 

Clicking or forging arises from the striking of 
the toe of the hind shoe against the under edge 



258 Driving 

of the toe of the fore shoe. It results usually 
from the quicker action of the hind quarters than 
the fore quarters. A remedy is to shorten the 
toes of the hind feet and level off the edges of 
the toe of the fore shoe. Shortening the toes of 
the fore feet enables the horse to raise his fore 
feet more quickly and thus to get them away 
before the hind quarters reach his fore feet. In 
hilly country, or where horses are overworked 
or weakened by illness, this overreaching is most 
common, and often disappears when horses get 
accustomed to the country, or get stronger and 
better able to lift, and to carry their feet properly. 



CHAPTER IX 

HARNESS 

The harness has two fundamental functions : 
first, to attach the horse to the vehicle, so that he 
may pull it ; second, to enable the coachman to 
guide the horse. The elements of all harness, 
therefore, are : the collar, hames, and traces, and 
the bridle, bit, and reins. 

The pulling part — the collar, hames and traces 
— should, of course, be first of all strong and then 
as light as will fulfil their purpose; the guiding 
part — the bridle, bit, and reins — should first of 
all be light, but strong enough to hold the horse. 
Whether you buy harness, or use harness, or wish 
to be guided in examining and keeping in repair 
your own harnesses, these are the underlying 
principles of the whole subject. 

All questions of form or fads or personal 
peculiarity must first conform to these principles, 
otherwise the harnessing will be wrong. From 
judging the appointment classes at a horse 
show to the buying of a harness for your chil- 
dren's pony, these first principles of what a har- 
ness should be apply rigidly. 

259 



26o Driving 

Unless there is a rational basis to go upon in 
all these matters, form and style and so on are 
mere silliness. As an example of this, there is 
the absurd dictum in this country that a lady 
should sit on the right side of her own carriage, 
due, of course, to the fact that in England vehicles 
pass to the left, which of course makes the right 
side the prominent side. In this country vehicles 
pass to the right, which of course makes the 
left side the prominent, and, for purposes of seeing 
and being seen, the more convenient side. This 
is a very happy illustration of vehicular toadyism, 
or of so-called "form," which is simian, rather 
than sensible. Wherever, therefore, in the matter 
of manners and appointments on the road, from 
the harnessing, furnishing, and handling of a 
pony cart to a " drag," you are met with a state- 
ment or given advice that has no rational 
sanction, be sure you are wrong and investigate 
further. 

A similar question to the above is the much- 
mooted one as to whether the reins, particularly 
in four-in-hand driving, should be buckled or left 
unbuckled. When the mail-coaches were making 
the best time possible from stage to stage or when 
the amateur whip was making the best time pos- 
sible in imitation thereof, it was claimed that a cer- 
tain amount of time was saved at the end of each 
stage by doing away with the unbuckling of the 




PLATE XX. 
1. Bridoon. 2. Double-ring snaffle. 3. Half-cheek jointed snaffle. 




PLATE XXL — BIT FOUND ON THE ACROPOLIS. DATE 500 B.C. 



Harness 261 

reins. True, time was saved, and with professional 
coachmen there was the minimum of danger from 
dropping a rein. But nowadays, in driving a 
coach, either on the road or in the park, the 
safety, comfort, and pleasure of the passengers are 
first of all important, and the seconds saved in 
unbuckling reins are of no consequence. 

The best road coachman I know in this country, 
and a man who probably never dropped a rein in 
his life, drives with his reins buckled. As to the 
question of the leaders running away, when of 
course buckled reins would catch in the terrets of 
the wheel horses' pads, — that is as though a man 
should sleep every night in a rope harness for 
getting out of windows in case of fire. 

These two questions are typical of certain 
vapid discussions of questions relating to harness 
and harnessing, and they are also typical of how 
the student of such matters should settle them. 
Usage is the law of language, so, too, usage 
should not be dethroned in any department of life 
without good reason ; but when usage becomes 
an empty form, and when a change makes for 
safety, comfort, and convenience, there should be 
no hesitation about making it. 

The earliest form of vehicle and harness, and 
upon which all improvements have been built up, 
are the Indian pony with two long poles attached 
to his belly-band and a rawhide rope around 



262 Driving 

his neck. There you have all the elements of a 
harness, but with no comfort and no convenience, 
and only the most precarious safety. In the 
famous picture, " Attila at Rome," by Raphael, the 
Huns are riding without bit or bridle, merely a 
rope or strap around the neck of their mounts. 
In certain pictures of Roman chariots there is 
but one rein attached to a snaffle-bit, and the 
horse was evidently guided by the pressure of 
the rein and the whip; though it is to be re- 
membered that the complicated turnings of 
modern traffic and modern roads were unknown, 
and to keep straight, and to start and stop, were 
the main thing. 

To begin at the beginning in a discussion of mod- 
ern harness (Plate XXII.), it is proper to empha- 
size the fact that the very best leather is none too 
good, whether in your traces or in your reins. 
The best leather is made of the hides of heifers 
or steers and tanned with oak bark. The total 
supply of oak bark in England is only about 
three hundred thousand tons a year, which amount 
is quite insufficient; and most of the English 
leather is tanned by cheaper and quicker meth- 
ods. The old oak-tanning process took eighteen 
months, and made leather of unequalled quality. 
To-day the process hardly consumes as many 
weeks, and in America, hemlock bark is the most 
important material used. 




m 
m 
u 

< 

w 
►J 
o 



Harness 263 

It is not easy, except by long experience, to tell 
good leather at a glance. One authority says 
that good leather should "be solid, but not 
hard ; mellow, but not soft." The black leather 
in a harness should have a smooth surface, close 
texture, and when bent between the hands should 
not show minute cracks. 

The collar is the keystone of the pulling part 
of the harness. It should fit to a nicety, every 
horse having his own collar as much as the coach- 
man should have his own boots. The collar 
should be lined with some non-porous material, 
preferably soft leather — even thin patent leather 
is good and easily cleaned. If the collar is too 
wide, it will rub the shoulders ; if too short, it will 
choke the horse ; if rounded at the top, it will press 
on and gall the withers. Usually the collar that 
will go over a horse's head will fit as to width, and 
is long enough when four fingers, held vertically, 
will go between the collar and neck, when the 
head is held in its usual position. The sides of 
the upper part of the collar, as well as the sides 
over the shoulders, should be well filled out, to 
prevent the rubbing of the point of the collar on 
the withers. In cases where the horse has an 
unusual conformation of head and neck a collar 
opening at the top is a convenience — one or 
two such collars should be kept in ever}' stable. 
Collars may be either straight or curved back, 



264 Driving 

the latter variety showing off the horse's neck to 
advantage. 

The hames must, of course, fit the collar ; and 
the draught-eye in the hames, to which the tug is 
attached, should be placed so that the pull comes 
upon the muscles of the lower part of the shoulder- 
blade, or at a point where this large bone is nar- 
rowest. Usually hame-rings are placed too low by 
a full inch on the hames when fitted to the collar. 
This is important, as it puts the draught where 
the horse can most easily apply most power and 
leaves his shoulders as free as though the collar 
were not there. The incline of the trace from 
the collar, so far as applied mechanics are con- 
cerned, matters little so long as it is not too high 
nor too low ; but as a wheel meets with friction 
and obstructions up and over which it must be 
pulled, it is an advantage to have the trace de- 
cline from the collar to the vehicle. 

It is well to put the collar on some minutes be- 
fore the horse is to be used in it, so that his neck 
and shoulders may be warmed for their work; 
and it is absolutely essential to sound skin on 
neck and shoulders that the collar should be left 
on the horse five or ten minutes after his return, 
hot from work. Pads or saddles should fit as 
well as collars and should be placed just back of 
the shoulders, where the muscles are no longer 
prominent. If horses were saddled twenty min- 



Harness 265 

utes before they were wanted, and only unsaddled 
— girths of course being loosened — twenty min- 
utes after their return to the stable, these precau- 
tions, and a liberal use of alcohol rubbed into the 
skin, would lessen materially the number of sore 
backs. A Dutch collar, or breastplate, is some- 
times used in light harness instead of a neck 
collar. In the case of a horse with sore shoulders 
this is a convenience, or a horse with graceful 
neck and shoulders in the lead of a tandem shows 
off better with such a collar. But for draught it 
is not as good as the neck collar. 

To the hames on the collar is fastened the tug, 
to the tug the trace, which at its other end is 
fastened finally to the vehicle. Of the length of 
tugs and traces it is to be said that they should 
be of such length that the back-band lies on the 
middle of, not in front or behind, the pad, when 
the horse is pulling. The reason for this is that 
otherwise the horse will be pulling the vehicle, 
not by the trace, but by the back-band. Many 
illustrations of this awkwardness may be seen 
wherever you see horses in harness. 

Of the particular fastenings of tugs to hames, 
and of traces to vehicles, — these must depend 
upon the type of vehicle, and had best be left to 
the choice of the technically experienced. But 
it is every owner's business to see to it that these 
draught portions of the harness are strong and 



266 Driving 

of the proper length. In the case of traces in a 
coach harness, the inside trace should be about 
half a hole shorter than the outside trace to make 
the draught even, and the convenient way to do 
this is to wrap the inside roller-bolt with leather, 
thus taking up more of the trace on that side, and 
saving the weakening of the trace by punching 
an extra hole in the tug end of it. 

Good, strong, pliable reins, particularly of the 
length, 23 feet 6 inches, required for the lead-reins 
of a coach, are hard to get, but merit all the time 
and money spent in getting them. Of the size, 
viz. the width, of the reins, one writer says : " Medio 
utissimus ibis" which back-of-the-dictionary Latin 
would apply equally well to a man's gloves or 
collars. If you have short fingers, the reins should 
be, say, three-quarters or seven-eighths of an inch 
wide; if long fingers, one inch wide or even a little 
more. A man with short fingers would be ham- 
pered, and his work in fingering four reins would 
be cramped, with wide reins. 

A horse's bridle should fit him nicely and with 
no loose ends hanging or sticking about his head. 
Nothing looks more slovenly than trace points 
or back-band points or bridle billet ends sticking 
out of, and beyond their loops. 

The horse's eyes should come in the middle of 
the winkers, and the headstall should be so fitted as 
to keep them there. The winkers should not bulge 





Elbow 



Liverpool 





Buxton Gig 

PLATE XXIII. 



Harness 267 

out nor turn in, and thus almost touch the eye. 
Above all, they should not, as is often the case, 
drop so that the horse can see over, and behind 
them. Many horses under these circumstances 
will pay so much attention to the man and the 
whip, and perhaps the parasol, behind them, that 
they will see nothing else. The throat-latch 
should be loose enough to allow three fingers 
between it and the throat. It is intended to keep 
the whole bridle in place, but not to choke the 
horse. The nose-band is a survival. It was 
intended to keep the jaws of the horse together 
so that he could not relieve himself from the bit 
by opening his mouth. In the case of a bit with 
a high port it is still useful for that purpose ; but 
even when used merely because it came as part 
of the harness, it should fit and not be a flopping 
ring of leather around the horse's nose. A nose- 
band properly adjusted should have the width of 
two fingers between it and the horse's jaws and 
should fit snugly and not too far up over his nose. 
The brow-band should so fit that it does not rub 
the ears. When the bridle is hung up as one 
piece, see that it is not hung on a hook, so that 
one side or the other is pulled out of shape, but 
on a proper bridle-rack. 

Of bits, as of books, there is no end. Xeno- 
phon advises a flexible bit covered with leather. 
" No matter what the kind of bit, it must always 



268 Driving 

be flexible," he maintains (Plate XXI.). William 
Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, in probably the 
most sumptuous book on the horse ever pub- 
lished, writing in 1657, says, "But above all, 
this rule is chiefly to be observed, to put as little 
iron in your horse's mouth as possibly you can." 

With bits as with shoes, the less and the lighter, 
the better, so long as they be strong enough to 
hold your horse. The plain snaffle, ring snaffle, 
double ring snaffle, Liverpool bit, Elbow bit, Bux- 
ton bit, Swales's patent, and (Plates XXIII. and 
XXIV.) innumerable modifications of these, offer 
opportunity to shift responsibility from your own 
hands to the tender bars of the horse's mouth. 
Outside of here and there a horse who, on account 
of bad early training or from ill-usage or from 
fracture, it is impossible to bit so that he will go 
comfortably, the matter of bits and bitting is a 
matter of patience and experiment. 

Bits are often bought as though any size of bit 
would do for any size of horse. But a bit too 
large is as injurious as a bit too small. The mouth- 
piece should be exactly the width of the mouth, 
and if you have not a bit that fits exactly, it is a 
simple matter to insert around the mouthpiece and 
inside the branch of the bit, a disk of leather of 
the thickness required to make your bit fit snugly 
(Plates XXV. and XXVI.). This fitting of the 
bit alone makes a great difference to the comfort 




PLATE XXIV. —SWALES PATENT 





PLATE XXV. — BRUSH BURR PLATE XXVL — PLAIN BURR 



Harness 269 

of the horse, as may be seen by looking closely 
at the way in which a bit with the mouthpiece 
too long works in the horse's mouth, when at- 
tached to two long reins and pulled this way 
and that. The bit should be placed neither too 
high nor too low in the mouth, but about an 
inch above the tusk. 

The curb-chain should allow of two fingers 
between it and the horse's jaw. This curb-chain 
is a part of the lever which works by the bit, 
through the reins, on the mouth, and should be 
handled with discrimination and soberly. The 
curb-chain may be made more severe, either by 
tightening it, or by turning the chain itself so 
that it will be with rough edges against the 
horse's jaw. It is doubtful whether this is more 
than a temporary solution of pulling. Its final 
effect is to deaden the horse's mouth. When 
you are tempted to tighten your curb-chain, 
tighten your nose-band and loosen your curb- 
chain instead ; or lift the bit by a hole in the 
horse's mouth or lower it ; or buckle your reins 
in the cheek instead of the bar, middle bar, or 
lower bar ; or if there seems to be trouble on 
one side of the horse's mouth and not on the 
other, — if on the near side, put the off rein into 
the middle bar, leaving the near rein in the cheek, 
or vice versa; or look to see if your horse has 
his tongue over the bit ; or if he is inclined to 



270 Driving 

loll with his tongue, tie his tongue down with soft 
string ; or loosen or tighten the bearing-rein ; — 
in short, use every means in your power to make 
the horse comfortable before you resort to harsh 
measures — which last, by the way, are almost 
never permanently successful. 

Above all things, don't lose your temper, and 
make matters absolutely impossible of remedy by 
doing just what the horse is doing — pulling! 
The horse may be merely nervous, or ignorant 
of what the bit means, or really suffering; and 
you have more intelligence than he has — the 
comparative weights of your brains and spinal 
cords prove it — and that being true, you should 
illustrate this physiological law by managing 
him, rather than to permit him to manage you. 
But, you reply, what if you have tried everything, 
and he still continues to pull your arms out and 
endanger the lives of yourself and others ? Then 
get out of a bad fix as best you can. Tele- 
graph him that you decline the nomination 
as candidate unless he reforms, and get him 
back to Nebraska as speedily and with as little 
danger as possible. 

Anything that can be done to freshen or to 
keep fresh the animal's mouth, and to give him 
something rather to play with, than to pull 
against, is important. Hence the reason for 
changing the position of the bit, for movable 



Harness 271 

mouthpieces, or for any other device to keep 
the horse from taking the bit too seriously. 

There are innumerable experiments to be tried 
before a horse is to be set down as a " puller." 
Often when a horse finds he is not to be hurt, 
he goes well enough. Take out the heavy bit, 
and drive him in a snaffle. Cover his bit with 
rubber, or sew salt pork on his bit ; or give him 
a bit that works up and down, or change from 
the straight bit to one with a slight port, so that 
it does not rest on his tongue, or go to your 
harness maker and have a Liverpool made with 
a jointed mouthpiece, — why not.? What you 
want is something not unsightly to drive your 
horse in, and, as we have said before, though 
" form ^' and " correctness " are absolutely essen- 
tial to persons and things without content, they 
are to be set aside always when there is a rational 
sanction for doing so. Dress parade at quarters 
if you please and without a speck or a spot or a 
stir of a muscle ; but undershirts and bare feet 
for coaling ship and going into action. The 
man who is overawed by twaddle about " form " 
in the treatment of a live animal, whether man or 
beast, must have cur blood in him from some 
source, and is not a proper person to be put 
in authority over either. 

There are many things about the harness 
which annoy the horse and make him restive and 



272 Driving 

uncomfortable to drive. His brow-band may be 
chafing his ears ; his winkers may be flapping or 
pushing against his eyes ; his pad or saddle may 
not fit, and be rubbing his backbone ; the crupper 
may be too short, catching him hard under the 
tail or pulling the saddle backward ; the traces 
may be too long or too short, hampering him in 
his work ; his shoes may have been on too long 
and become too small for his ever growing hoof; 
the bearing-rein may be too tight; the bit too 
wide, or hard on his tongue, or pressing against 
inflamed tissue caused by ragged teeth which 
ought to have been filed down. 

All these matters, it ought to be the pride, as it 
is the duty, of a coachman to look out for. It is 
for this reason, if for no other, that the owner of a 
horse or horses should know the elements at least 
of the history, housing, harnessing, and handling 
of the horse. Ignorance not only means discom- 
fort and danger, but it means cruelty as well. 

A martingale is intended to prevent the horse 
from throwing up his head. It is looped through 
a buckle and attached to the belly-band at one 
end; the other end is a split strap with rings 
through which the reins pass, or it may be fastened 
to the bit itself, or to the nose-band if the horse is 
refractory or fussy about his mouth. 

The question of bearing-reins is not a question 
of bearing-reins or no bearing-reins, but a question 



Harness 273 

of the use and misuse of bearing-reins. No horse 
or pony of spirit should be driven by a woman or 
a child without a bearing-rein. It prevents the 
animal rubbing his head against shaft or pole, 
and catching and perhaps pulling his bridle off; 
it prevents him from getting his head down be- 
tween his legs and becoming unholdable ; and it 
makes kicking more difficult. A halter is enough 
for Dobbin when Dobbin goes his sleepy way, 
but there is no knowing what day in ten years 
Dobbin gets well, and devil a saint is he ! The 
bearing-rein, properly adjusted, does not incon- 
venience the horse in the slightest and is a valu- 
able safeguard in time of need. For a boring or 
heavy-headed or gross-necked horse, the bearing- 
rein takes weight off the coachman's hands and 
helps rather than impedes the horse. 

On the other hand, the bearing-rein, like a cer- 
tain feminine piece of harness, may be used for 
purposes of fashionable distortion. The horse's 
head is twisted up high in the air to make him 
lift his legs and to give him a lofty and proud 
appearance. This use of the bearing-rein is in- 
deed an abomination. The gag bearing-rein is a 
rein passing from a point of the headstall on each 
side, through a swivel attached to the snaffle, 
thence through another ring, and fastened on to 
the hook of the pad or saddle. The sides of the 
horse's mouth are drawn up, and with a tight 



274 Driving 

crupper to boot, the horse looks as though he 
were tied together at the teeth and the tail. One 
sees little of this nowadays. Only the very 
newest dollars, daubed with unusual ignorance, 
permit this turkey-cock style of harnessing. 

The crupper, passing from the pad or saddle 
and ending in a padded loop under the tail, 
holds the saddle from slipping forward when 
the harness is without breeching, and also, as a 
horse always tucks his tail into his quarters when 
about to kick, prevents kicking to some extent. 
The crupper should be stuffed with linseed to 
keep it moist, and to prevent its hardening and 
becoming a worry to the horse. 

In these days, when even light carriages have 
brakes, breeching is seldom used except with state 
or very dressy harness. In a hilly country or with 
two-wheeled traps, particularly those driven by 
women or children, it should be a part of the 
harness. In such cases, safety rather than appear- 
ance or lightness is the essential thing. The 
breeching should hang about twelve inches below 
the upper part of the dock, and have four to six 
inches' play when the horse is in his collar. 

The kicking-strap in a single harness is fas- 
tened on one shaft and passes up and over the 
horse's quarters through a loop in the crupper and 
down on the other side to the other shaft. In double 
harness two straps are needed. They are fastened 



Harness 275 

to the pad and run alongside the crupper to the 
spHnter-bar and are connected by a strap across 
the quarters. No advice is necessary here. When 
a kicking-strap is needed, the necessity is obvious. 
Pains should be taken, however, to have the kick- 
ing-strap well back on the quarters, otherwise it is 
valueless, and also to have it loose enough not to 
be the cause itself of kicking. 

Though the whip is not part of the harness, 
it is an important adjunct. The best stocks 
are made of holly or of our own white hickory. 
The stock should be five feet long, and the thong, 
for four horses, ten feet six inches — for one or 
two, four feet long. The balance of the whip to 
one who drives much is as important as the 
suitable balance of a fishing-rod, golf-club, or 
rapier. If badly balanced, it adds a surprising 
burden of weight on the hand, to one who has 
not experienced it. A good maker's whip will 
balance at its best, at the collar; that is to(say, 
when grasped at the collar it is carried with\ the 
weight most evenly distributed for its holder. 
The thong should be kept pliable with mutton 
tallow or soap, — crown soap is the best, — and 
never pipe-clayed, which rots the thong. It 
should never be left standing, but, in order to 
keep its shape, it should hang, when not in use, 
on a spool. Even heavy poles will warp, if not 
properly cared for, by keeping them lengthwise 



276 Driving 

on proper rests; much more true is this of the 
far lighter and more delicate whiphandles. The 
large or butt end of a good stock will be nine- 
tenths of an inch round, the small end six-tenths. 
For a heavy whip the handle should be covered 
with pigskin, and sewn down its length, or, even 
better, wound in a spiral, each fold overlapping, 
which makes the handle less slippery in wet 
weather ; the chief value of pigskin here and 
elsewhere in saddlery and harness-making is that 
it is not made rough by friction. Imitation pig- 
skin is made in quantity. In genuine pigskin, 
the bristles reach clear through the skin, so 
that there are holes on the flesh side. In the 
imitations the holes only reach part way. through. 
The thong on every whip should be of the same 
material throughout, and not terminate in whip- 
cord, or silk, or ribbons, or any other fussy 
material. The whip is for use — important use — 
to a good coachman, and should be made 
accordingly. 

Of the care of harness, it would be difficult 
to say too much. The whole pleasure and safety 
of driving depend practically upon the watch 
that is kept to see that it is safe and strong. 
When there is question about wear, it is better 
to replace the worn part at once. Better throw 
an old harness aside, than run the risk of its 
being used by leaving it in the stable. It may 



Harness 277 

be put on in muddy weather, or through careless- 
ness, and disaster follows. As long as leather 
remains dry and clean, it needs little attention. 
Once it is wet, it should be carefully cleaned and 
well rubbed with oil. Neat's-foot oil is the best. 
Vegetable oils, with the single exception of castor- 
oil, which is disagreeable by reason of its odor, 
are apt to become hard. All brass or plate on 
harness tarnishes easily, and should be kept from 
the ammonia of the stable and from the fumes 
of gas, if it is burned; as well as from gas from the 
stove. A good mixture for black harness is one 
pint spirits of turpentine, four ounces of beeswax, 
one ounce prussian blue, half an ounce lampblack ; 
after the application, plenty of hand polishing. 
It would seem almost unnecessary to warn against 
soaking any part of leather harness in water, if 
the writer had not seen on more than one occa- 
sion parts of harness literally left to soak in the 
water-bucket! In the case of the parts of the 
harness made of patent leather, no wax prepara- 
tion should be used ; vaseline and a soft rag will 
do the cleaning sufficiently well. 

What has been said of the care of harness 
is equally, and for the same reason, of safety, 
true of the carriages in your stable. All carriages 
profit by an airing occasionally. If they are not 
often used, they should be run out and left for an 
hour or two in a dry, warm place. Carriages 



278 Driving 

newly painted and varnished should be washed 
several times before they are used. This sets 
and hardens paint and varnish. 

Carriages should not be merely dusted or 
wiped over, but washed when they come in, and 
thoroughly dried — a soft sponge on fine car- 
riages, a hose on rougher vehicles, and a soft 
chamois to dry both, and patience — never hot 
water and never picking off of dried mud, lest 
paint and varnish come with it. Carriages 
with plain axles should have the axles seen to 
after every outing. Men who do much driving 
of heavy vehicles with Collinge or Mail axles, 
unless they have competent servants or are com- 
petent themselves, find it safer and better to have 
the carriage builder look after their axles at reg- 
ular intervals. Collinge axles will go from one 
to two months ; Mail axles a week without oil- 
ing, on a private coach. On public coaches it is 
the custom to examine the axles each day. 

Washing and caring for carriages is not a dif- 
ficult matter, except that the human qualities of 
patience and painstaking are more difficult to find 
even than mechanical ability. Time should be 
taken on the wash-stand, if nowhere else. Of 
the care of the cushions and stuffed parts of car- 
riages, and the metal parts, common sense, and 
the well-known commercial pastes sold by all 
harness and carriage makers, will fit a man out 



Harness 279 

to do his duty. With styles of carnages and ap- 
propriate vehicles for exhibiting and the like, this 
book does not deal. The most scientific treatise 
on the subject of the coach and carriage is " A 
Manual of Coaching," by Fairman Rogers. The 
author was of high attainments as an engineer, 
and of great practical experience as a coachman. 
A valuable book of reference, with complete and 
very good illustrations covering the ground of 
appropriateness and " good form," is " Driving 
for Pleasure," by Francis T. Underbill. A very 
useful compilation, very complete and clear as to 
all details of the stable is, " The Private Stable," 
by James A. Garland. 

All parts of steel, bits, curb-chains, pole-chains, 
kidney-links, and the like, after washing, may be 
put into lime-water — dissolving as much com- 
mon lime as the water will take ; this does steel 
no harm and keeps off rust. To polish these 
parts, they should be shaken in a bag with fine 
sawdust and sand. Sand and emery paper scratch, 
and do not burnish satisfactorily ; a steel burnisher 
is the only way in which the original polish can 
be regained or retained. 

That harness should be appropriate to the 
horse, the vehicle, and the use to which it is to 
be put, goes without saying. The pony-cart, the 
runabout, the drag, the miniature Victoria, the 
station wagon, need harness to suit them. But 



28o Driving 

this by no means entails different harness for 
every vehicle. On the contrary, a few changes, 
and a pair of leaders' reins, both for four and 
tandem, will fit you out for almost any kind of 
driving. Collars, bits, saddles, should fit their 
wearers; and of these, if there are many horse- 
men and horsewomen in the family, you must 
have an adequate supply. But the light pony-pair 
harness with long reins, and the heavier harness 
if a larger pair fitted with removable terrets, gives 
you a four-in-hand harness. A similar arrange- 
ment with two single harnesses will give you a 
tandem harness ; and it is well to remember that 
the greater variety of driving you have, the more 
confidence you will gain and the better you will 
drive. It is hard on the men in the stable to 
have too little harness, and it is a burden to have 
a lot of harness that is never used. Leather up to 
a certain age improves with use and deteriorates 
when left to hang and become dry, so that it is 
almost as necessary not to have too much harness 
as to have enough. Let it be repeated that any 
question of worn parts of a harness should be 
investigated and attended to at once. This is 
not merely economy ; it is gross extravagance not 
to do so, and a peril besides. 

When men wore close armor and a beaver 
down, they could only be distinguished by 
emblems on their shields or harness. When 



Harness 



2«I 



reading was an almost unknown accomplishment, 
it was necessary that men should have over their 
tents in the field, or over their gates or doors 
at home, signs and symbols that could be easily 
seen and distinguished. Hence arms and heraldry. 
The more conspicuous the man or the family, the 
more necessary that he and they should be easily 
recognizable. Hence the inns of the local village, 
the servants, the carriages, and the like were dis- 
tinguished by a particular badge. 

The reason for this has passed. The over- 
powering instinct in man to prolong his existence, 
by having been, by being, and by affirming that 
he will be, as shown in genealogy, in ambition 
to be well known, and in the belief in immortality, 
is the explanation of heraldry. That the army, 
navy, or diplomatic officer should put a cockade 
in his servants' hats, is therefore not difficult to 
understand. That almost every man should wish 
to make the best of his ancestry, — to cut out the 
tailors, and hatters, and tinsmiths, and tanners, and 
make prominent the worthies, — is also not difficult 
to understand. To the American, however, the 
conspicuous use of insignia of this kind, unless 
the authenticity thereof be verifiable by proofs 
unquestionable, is rather childish. There is no 
doubt whatever but that we all have a strain of 
the right to bear arms blood ; there is also no 
doubt that we have all more or less lived through 



282 Driving 

days of small and tradesman-like things in this 
country, and perhaps your own initials on your 
harness are the safest badge. If you are a gentle- 
man, it will probably show itself most conspic- 
uously by the fact that you never remind others 
of it and never forget it yourself. If either 
technically or morally you are not a gentleman, 
no sign and motto will make you one. Indeed, 
some badges on harness only serve to make con- 
spicuous the fact that the horses are better bred 
than the owners. This is a comparison that 
should be avoided. It is not fair to the horses. 

Lastly, in writing of harness, it is proper to 
remind the horse owner that his harness like his 
horse improves by use and proper care after use. 
Therefore avoid having too much harness. Unless 
you are a constant exhibitor in the show ring, 
you can adapt your harnesses, if they are all 
made in the same general pattern as to pads, 
blinkers, terrets, brow-bands, and the like, to many 
uses. 

A runabout harness of heavy make, with part 
of a double harness for your leader and a pair of 
long reins and a pair of traces and terrets that 
screw in and can be taken off, fit you out with a 
tandem harness. One heavy and one light set 
of double harness with similar arrangements as to 
reins and terrets will fit you out with a four-in- 
hand harness ; and if you stick to about the same 



Harness 283 

type of horse, with your saddlers in the lead and 
your harness horses in the wheel, you may have 
all the varieties of driving without undue expense 
and without an over-accumulation of harness. 



CHAPTER X 

THE AMERICAN HORSE 

By far the most interesting type of horse to 
the American is the American trotting-horse, not 
only for the reason that he is of our own develop- 
ment, but because in one way or another he does 
duty for our harness horse, in practically every 
capacity except as a draught animal. He is known 
to horsemen the world over as the most docile and 
most versatile of horses. He has been developed 
and trained to go a mile in two minutes, and he 
has been trained to step high, and to prove himself 
to be in the highest class of harness horse, and he 
is not bad under saddle. Indeed, more than one 
blue-ribbon winner under the saddle from Virginia 
and Kentucky is of this same stock. This docility 
is shown in the wonderful performance of Belle 
Hamlin, Justina, and Globe, driven a mile, three 
abreast, in 2.14 by Ed. Geers. 

In writing of the American trotting-horse one 
is confronted at the outset with the question of 
from what standpoint he is to be considered ; 
whether as race-horse, road-horse, heavy harness 
horse, or general utility horse, as in all of these 
capacities he is without an equal, and almost 
without a competitor. 

284 



The American Horse 285 

The American trotting-horse is the result of 
the development of a type produced from hetero- 
geneous breeds ; and while several districts of the 
country had their favorite strains of blood, there 
was no system of breeding which promised sure 
results until Hambletonian stamped his offspring 
with speed, and the instinct to trot; which have 
been developed by the breeding of horses with 
speed already developed or with speed inherit- 
ance. Trotters may now be bred, with a certainty 
that the produce will at least excel in speed horses 
of any other breed, and with a likelihood of great 
speed. 

The breeding of Hambletonian (Plate XXVII.), 
who traces back to Messenger on side of both 
sire and dam, has never been questioned. 
Messenger was imported to Philadelphia from 
England in 1788. He was a gray stallion by 
Mambrino, first dam by Turf, second dam by 
Regulus, third dam by Starling, fourth dam by 
Fox, fifth dam Gipsey, by Bay Bolton, sixth dam 
by Duke of Newcastle's Turk, seventh dam by 
Byerly Turk, eighth dam by Taffolet Barb, ninth 
dam by Place's White Turk. He was eight years 
old when he came over. 

The breeding of the dam of Hambletonian, 
known as the Charles Kent mare, is only ques- 
tioned by those who, having failed in breeding 
on other lines, have sought relief by attacking 



286 Driving 

Hambletonian's breeding, conformation, disposi- 
tion, and individuality, without considering that 
his record in the stud disproves any and every 
contention of the kind. There is no success Hke 
success. At any rate, all agree that the greatest 
success in breeding trotters has been achieved by 
a liberal use of Hambletonian blood ; and a 
winner with none of his blood is a curiosity. 
From Dexter, with a record of 2.17^ in 1867 down 
to Lou Dillon with a record of 1.58J in 1903, 
every champion trotter except one is known to 
have carried Hambletonian's blood, and the ex- 
ception probably did. The 2.10 list of to-day 
contains few without Hambletonian blood. 

That Hambletonian impressed his progeny 
with the trotting instinct, and that this remains 
through generations, is shown by the history of 
the Dexter branch of the family. Dexter's full 
brother Dictator founded a family which increases 
in number of winners yearly. This is also true of 
his other offspring who were properly bred and 
developed. 

Whether Hambletonian inherited his ability to 
impress his progeny with the trotting brain from 
the Arab, the thoroughbred, the hackney, or 
the native horse, is immaterial ; that he had that 
ability from some source, the stud book proves 
beyond peradventure. Whatever combination 
produced him it was a fortunate day for American 



The American Horse 287 

horse-breeding when he was produced and placed 
in Orange County, New York, where there were 
many good mares for him and where soil and 
water and climate all worked together for the good 
of his offspring and enabled him to found perhaps 
the best all-round type of horse in the world. 

All of Hambletonian's get had the instinct to 
trot, and by breeding to those also having this 
instinct, which was of necessity in-breeding, it has 
been increased until the trot is their natural gait, 
and three-year-olds trot as fast as the champion 
of thirty years ago. While it has taken nearly a 
century to reduce the trotting record a minute, 
and while this reduction has been helped by im- 
proved tracks, sulkies, methods of training and 
shoeing, no one will question that the percentage 
of horses who can trot fast has increased to such 
an extent that a horse to trot in 2.20 is easier to 
find to-day than a three-minute horse thirty years 
ago. 

The breed of American trotting-horse is of 
such recent origin, only five generations from 
Hambletonian to Lou Dillon, that it is not to be 
wondered at that the type is not exact, and that 
there are instances of reversion to outcrosses 
which produce individuals which subject the 
breed to criticism from those who judge quickly 
rather than calmly. 

There is practically no question that intelligent 



288 Driving 

breeding to a type will produce that type. This 
is proved by the phenomenal success of the 
Messrs. Hamlin. When Mr. C. J. Hamlin en- 
tered the breeding business, he stated that he pro- 
posed to breed not only speed, but beauty ; and for 
years Village Farm was not only the home of the 
champions, but its produce was the most uniform 
and beautiful known. The great majority of the 
Hamlin horses bear the imprint of that grand 
horse Mambrino King, who for several years called 
forth spontaneous cheers, and applause, at Madi- 
son Square Garden, captivating the audience by 
his distinguished gait and bearing. 

In conformation, the trotter has two distinctive 
differences from the runner, in that the trotter is 
longer in the body, than he is high, and is higher 
at the coupling, or rump, than at the withers. 
These differences, no doubt, are to accommodate 
the structure to the rotary gait rather than to the 
series of jumps of the runner. The trotter is 
steadily improving not only in speed, but in beauty, 
and it is only a matter of shoeing and education to 
make him step high for heavy harness use. Pho- 
tographs show that all trotters at speed, step high 
at some point in their stride, and shoeing and 
bitting will so change the stride that it develops 
a more circular form, and the grit and instinct to 
trot enables them to go fast, high, and far, as com- 
pared to any other high stepper. 



The American Horse 289 

In every use, other than draught-horse work, 
the trotter stands alone as a general utility 
horse. The intelligence and nervous restraint 
which makes the two-minute trotter a possibility 
also makes him, when used as a carriage horse, 
safer than any other, even when surrounded by 
the many hideous objects and noises he must face 
in the city streets of to-day. Prominent coaching 
men say that no horse in the world can draw a 
loaded coach at the same speed, and stand the 
work so well, as the American trotting-bred horse. 

The road-horse is a strictly American institution, 
and the possession of a trotter is about the first 
sign of prosperity of a successful American who 
lives outside of our great cities, where he is not 
influenced by the desire for show. The typical 
road-horse should have substance so that he can 
draw two men twelve miles an hour with pleasure 
to them and comfort to himself. He should have 
speed enough to acquit himself creditably in 
friendly brushes. Together with these qualities 
he should have looks and manners. No breed 
of horse except the American trotter combines 
the conformation, speed, and brain, to fulfil these 
requirements. 

The attached diagram and table, taken from 
the New York Herald after Lou Dillon had 
trotted in two minutes, shows clearly the progress 
of the trotter in the last hundred years. 



290 Driving 

TOOK NEARLY A CENTURY TO GAIN A MINUTE 



In 1806 Yankee lopped a Second from the Three -minute 

Mark and Ninety-seven Years later Even 

Figures are attained 



The following table shows the records of the trotting cham- 
pions since 1806 and the distance which Lou Dillon would 
have beaten each of them in a mile race. 



HORSE 



Record 

FOR 

One Mile 



Year 
Made 



Distance 
covered 

IN feet 
each 

Second 



No. Feet 

TROTTED 
IN 2.00 



No. Feet 

BEHIND 

Lou 
Dillon 



Yankee 
Boston Horse 
Trouble . . 
Sally Miller . 
Edwin Forrest 
Confidence . 
Dutchman 
Lady Suffolk . 
Pelham . . 
Highland Maid 
Flora Temple 
Dexter . . . 
Goldsmith Maid 
Rarus . . 
St. Julien . 
Jay-Eye-See 
Maud S. . 
Sunol . . 
Nancy Hanks 
Alix . . 
The Abbot 
Cresceus . 
Lou Dillon 



2.59 

2.48 1 

243i 

2-37 

2.36I 

2.36 

2.32 

2.29I 

2.28 

2.27 

2.191 
2.17J 
2.14 

2.i3i 

2.11I 

2.10 

2.08I 

2.0SI 

2.04 

2.03I 

2.03! 

2.02|^ 
2.00 



1806 
I8IO 
1826 
1834 



1839 
184s 
1849 

1853 
1859 
1867 
1874 
1878 
1880 
1884 
1885 
189I 
1892 
1894 
1900 
I9OI 
1903 



29.49 

31-33 
32.28 

33-63 

33-74 
33-85 
34-73 
35-32 
35-67 
35-92 
37-77 
38.47 
39-40 
39.62 
40.22 
40.61 
41.01 
41.17 
42.58 
42.65 
42.84 

43-19 
44.00 



3,539 
3,760 

3,874 
4,036 
4,049 
4,062 
4,168 
4,238 
4,280 

4,310 
4,532 
4,626 
4,728 

4,755 
4,826 

4,873 
4,921 
4,940 
5,109 
5,118 
5,141 

5>i99 
5,280 



1,741 

1,520 

1,416 

1,244 

1,231 

1,218 

1,112 

1,042 

1,000 

970 

748 

654 

552 

525 
427 
380 
342 
313 
154 
145 
122 
81 



The American Horse 291 

LOU DILLON'S DESCENT FROM HAMBLETONIAN 
IN THE MALE LINE 

Lou Dillon is fifth in descent from Hambletonian in the 
male line. This pedigree is as follows : — 

LOU DILLON 

SIDNEY DILLON 

SIDNEY 

SANTA CLAUS 

STRATHMORE 
HAMBLETONIAN 

As to the training and education of the trotter, 
that is a science which would require a book in 
and of itself. Of the training of the trotting-bred 
road-horse, no two men probably pursue exactly 
the same methods, and no two horses require 
exactly the same treatment, hence no hard and 
fast rules can be laid down for every man or for 
every horse. Each man can only give the fruit 
of his own practical experience, judiciously mixed 
with the experience of others. 

The first lesson cannot be given too soon. 
The day the foal is born it should be handled, and 
made to feel, even at that tender age, that man is 
its friend and master. This should be repeated 
every day for several weeks, or even longer, until 
the foal is perfectly gentle and friendly toward 
its . attendant, allowing itself to be stroked and 
patted, and each leg in turn to be lifted so that 



292 Driving 

the hoof may be examined and attended to, a 
small halter put on and taken off, and by degrees 
the foal gradually accustomed to lead and stand to 
halter. With a little patience and judgment, all 
this can be accomplished by the time the foal 
is a month old, simply through kindness and 
coaxing. 

Most breeders leave all this undone, letting the 
foals run wild until they are weaned, when they 
are roughly and partially broken by sheer force 
and awkwardness combined. Sometimes this is 
not done till they are yearlings, or even older. 
The educating methods when they are young 
give the best results. These first lessons are 
never forgotten, and the foal is practically born 
in an atmosphere of docility and obedience. He 
gains confidence in his master or attendant, and 
never really learns to fight back at the end of a 
halter strap, and is much more willing to accept 
passively what may follow later on. 

Instead of being in a state of terrorized obe- 
dience and fearful of being hurt every time he is 
approached by man with a strap or a piece of 
harness in his hands, he comes to look upon his 
training as agreeable play. 

Before the foal is weaned he should be tied up 
by the halter rope to a small manger in the stall 
with his dam, long enough to finish a small feed 
of crushed oats, and this should be continued as 




PLATE XXVII. — HAMBLETONIAN 




PLATE XXVIIL — GEORGE WILKES 



The American Horse 293 

part of his daily routine. He will fret much less 
after being weaned when this is done. 

His first lessons to harness should be given 
soon after being weaned, during the winter that 
he becomes a yearling. A surcingle may be first 
thrown over his back and loosely buckled at first, 
then gradually tightened up. Being already used 
to the halter, he will not object to a snug-fitting 
bridle. A leather bit is preferable to any other 
for a young colt. By degrees the rest of the 
harness may be put on with little or no trouble. 
If the colt is suspicious, let him see, smell, and 
nose the harness before putting it on. The colt 
should be led around with long reins, taught to 
turn to either side, to stop at the word "whoa," 
and also to back. Then he may be hitched up to 
a small cart, especially built, with long shafts, low 
to the ground and running out behind the wheels, 
so as to prevent rearing should this be attempted. 
It is well, also, always to use a strong kicking-strap, 
on the theory that "an ounce of prevention is 
worth a pound of cure." With such a cart and 
harness and lessons two or three times a week when 
the weather is pleasant, wonderful progress will 
often be made before it is time to turn the year- 
ling out to grass. 

Next winter he is coming two years old, and 
when taken up, the harness lessons should be re- 
sumed, this time to regulation road-cart. At this 



294 Driving 

stage a plain snafHe-bit should be used. An aver- 
age of twice a week in harness will be found suffi- 
cient, although a short drive every pleasant day 
may be indulged in. The colt should have the 
run of a paddock for exercise. The bitting rig 
may now be used to give the colt a good mouth, a 
most essential thing, for there is no comfort in 
driving a horse with a mean mouth. It is assumed 
that all the driving is done with a light hand, 
otherwise, instead of a road-horse, a rank puller is 
being developed. 

A young horse in harness can hardly be accus- 
tomed at too early a stage to different sights and 
sounds, provided they are introduced to him with 
judgment and in a way not calculated to frighten 
him. He should become acquainted with dogs, 
cows, and such things as he is liable to meet on 
the road. An umbrella open or shut should have 
no terrors for him. In showing him an umbrella 
and gradually opening it, — and putting it over 
his head and all about him, — it is well to bear in 
mind that a colt should be educated on both 
sides. Whatever is done on the near side should 
be repeated on the off side. Carts should be rat- 
tled and pushed up against his haunches, and a hun- 
dred and one things of the sort done, — all of which 
will suggest themselves to a careful trainer. A 
horse has little or no reasoning power. He has a 
tenacious memory. What he has seen and knows 



The American Horse 295 

does not harm him, he is not afraid of. What he 
has not seen he dreads, and being naturally the 
most timid of all animals, he instinctively and 
instantly thinks of flight, as his sole chance of 
escape. Confidence in his driver will counteract 
to a certain extent his dread and his thoughts of 
flight. A horse that is whipped past an object he 
is afraid of is being forced to choose the lesser of 
two evils, and in proportion to the extent of his 
fear must be the severity of the whipping to 
induce him to pass the dreaded object. Some 
horsemen pride themselves on their ability to 
" make " a horse pass anything or go anywhere. 
This method ruins a horse for pleasure driving, 
for when he sees something which frightens him, 
he knows he is between two fires. Ultimately, he 
may be cowed into submission and pass things 
without starting, but his spirit is broken, and he 
is no longer a gentleman's road-horse. 

The better plan is to gradually accustom a 
horse to steam cars, trolley cars, automobiles, 
steam rollers, etc., taking him a little nearer each 
time, and encouraging him with voice and rein to 
pass. Not every man will succeed in doing this. 
Your true horseman, like your poet, is born and 
not made. Before bringing his charge to this 
point, he will have absolute control of his young 
horse, and the horse has every confidence in his 
driver. The driver is confident and fearless, and, 



296 Driving 

knowing thoroughly the nature and limited capac- 
ity of his pupil, so manages things that the confi- 
dence and fearlessness are mutual, and so in time 
the horse responds cheerfully and fearlessly to the 
slightest wish of his driver. In the hands of a 
timid, nervous man, the same horse is likely to 
develop into a dangerous shyer, if not a puller or 
a runaway. 

Every harness-horse should be taught to back 
and to stand. He should understand this before 
being harnessed to a cart, and time and care can- 
not be better employed than in making him pro- 
ficient in both backing and stopping at the word 
of command, with every vehicle to which he may 
be harnessed. A horse may do both every time 
he is asked in a two-wheeled cart, and yet refuse 
to do either and have to be taught all over again 
when put to a four-wheeled vehicle. 

Another valuable accomplishment is to walk 
fast. A lazy driver will sometimes make a slow 
walker of a naturally fast one, but this should not 
be tolerated. Some colts are naturally inclined 
to poke along at a snail's pace when walking, and 
are most satisfactory in every other respect. 
They will acquire the habit of brisk walking if 
they are harnessed double with a fast-walking 
horse. It is time well spent in teaching a horse 
to acquire the habit. 

In driving young horses to pole, they should 



The American Horse 297 

be driven different days on alternate sides, — first 
on the near side, then on the off side, or vice 
versa. 

Open bridles should be used to begin with, and 
afterwards the blind bridle may be substituted. 
A driving-horse should be equally at home with 
either kind. While a plain snaffle is preferable 
for most horses, it will not always answer. In 
that case, the only way is to experiment with dif- 
ferent bits until a suitable one is found. A 
severe bit should never be used except as a last 
resort. 

The abuse of overdraw checks cannot be too 
severely reprobated. Many a good horse has his 
mouth and temper ruined, and his neck muscles 
made rigid instead of remaining, as they should, 
flexible and pliable, by the inordinate craze for 
the " Kimball Jackson " check. Some horses 
may, and probably do, require it; but, in my 
opinion, they are few and far between. Many 
road drivers seem to think such a check must be 
used on a fast trotter. It is well to recall that 
Jay- Eye-See, the first horse to trot a mile in 2.10, 
was driven with a side-check; and Lou Dillon, 
who has trotted a mile in 1.58J, and is the two- 
minute marvel of the day, goes without any check 
whatever. These two noted examples should 
silence all arguments about the necessity for an 
overdraw check in order to increase the speed. 



298 Driving 

The pleasure of a driving-horse depends as 
much as anything else upon his stopping and 
standing wherever and whenever you wish him to 
do so. Young horses are often impatient of this 
restraint, coming at irregular intervals and places, 
and it is one of the hardest things to train a horse 
to do. A good plan is to have them follow 
behind a wagon, particularly if loaded with hay, 
and have the wagon start and stop, and the colt 
you are driving behind it do likewise. This 
stopping and starting seems to him more natural, 
coming as it does from the forcible argument of a 
load of hay in front of him, rather than a pulling 
on his mouth from behind. 

Just as the American trotting-bred horse makes 
the most agreeable harness-horse in the world, so 
he is well worth all the time and patience required 
to make him what he can become. A few months' 
kindliness, firmness, and patience when his school- 
ing begins mean years of pleasure and safety to 
his owner later on. Above all, get all idea out of 
your head of " breaking " a horse. He is the last 
animal in the world to be made companionable or 
useful by being beaten and roughly handled and, 
as the phrase is, " broken." In his bitting, har- 
nessing, and handling he should be made to do. 
things by patience rather than by force. The no- 
tion that a horse should never be allowed to refuse 
to do what is required of him, but that he should 



The American Horse 299 

there and then be beaten into obedience is not 
only a false notion, but results badly. Instead of 
thrashing him past what he shies at, it is far 
better in the end to keep at the problem day after 
day until he learns through habit rather than by 
the whalebone. It takes more time, but in the 
end the results are far more satisfactory. It is in 
these early days of the training of the road-horse 
or harness-horse that the wise owner puts all he 
knows of bitting, harnessing, shoeing, and feeding 
into practice. It is at these times, too, that he 
learns by scores of experiments which of the 
many counsels he has read or listened to is the 
wisest. It may be said, indeed, that an owner is 
and remains partially ignorant and incompetent, 
until he has watched and bitted and driven, day 
after day, an equine problem of his own. 



CHAPTER XI 

A CHAPTER OF LITTLE THINGS 

The success of every drive, whether with one 
horse, two horses, four horses, or six horses, 
depends upon three things : the comfort of your 
horse, yourself, and your passengers. 

Of the comfort of the horse much has been 
said already, and all that has been said may well 
be emphasized and even repeated. He should be 
ready to go out, that is, not too soon after nor too 
long after feeding. His bit and harness should 
be comfortable and adequate to the work he is to 
do. His shoes and feet should be in good con- 
dition. If a horse is properly looked after by his 
caretaker in the stable, casting a shoe should be 
a rare occurrence. The horse being comfortable 
at the start, everybody's comfort behind him 
depends upon his being kept comfortable. He 
should not be asked to go too fast or too slow, or 
asked to do too much at one time, and his mouth 
should be kept fresh. 

As for the coachman, his harness, too, should fit 
him. The writer has seen a rein dropped and a 
horse in a four go sprawling on the pavement, all 

300 



A Chapter of Little Things 301 

on account of the ill-fitting hat of the coachman, 
who was grabbing at his head-gear at an inoppor- 
tune moment. It is even a matter of consequence, 
if you are to be the custodian of other people's 
safety on a drive, that your hat should fit you well 
enough to stay on, even in a fresh breeze. 

Gloves should be of dogskin, and at least a 
size too big. Your hand should be able to bend 
as though there was no glove on it. If the glove 
is not as big as this, or even bigger, your reins 
will slip toward the middle of your fingers, where 
they should not be, but held snug in toward the 
roots of the fingers ; and you cannot easily bend 
your hand round to make a pivot of your wrist, 
upon which the whole easy give-and-take between 
the hand and the horse's mouth depends. In 
our hot climate it makes for coolness in summer 
to punch a few holes in the backs of the gloves, 
and turn over the wrists on to the backs of the 
hands. Driving gloves with only one seam up 
and down the fingers are the most comfortable 
(see plates). 

A pair of woollen gloves should always be taken 
in tandem or four-in-hand driving to use in case 
of wet weather. Nobody can drive in tight-fitting 
gloves. You may steer and pull, but drive, never. 
Every single suggestion as to holding and finger- 
ing the reins is negatived if tight gloves are worn. 
It then becomes a physical impossibility to so 



302 Driving 

manoeuvre hands, wrists, and fingers that the 
horse's mouth shall have a chance. Wet glov€S 
can be got in shape and flexibility again by the 
use of Crown soap well rubbed into them while 
they are wet. When they are dry again, they will 
be as good as ever. 

In the matter of the driver's cushion, it is well 
to be above your horse, even in a runabout. This 
gives better control, more power, and keeps the 
reins off the horse's back, so that they may come 
back directly from the pad-terrets to the hand. 
The cushion should always, in whatever vehicle, 
be of cloth, and tufted to avoid slipping. You 
will have enough to do without using your legs 
as props to hold you on your seat. So much 
depends upon the physical proportions of the 
coachman that it is impossible to give figures as 
to the proper size and slant of cushion. Three 
inches and a half is a fair slant of cushion. The 
knees should be bent at a comfortable angle, and 
the feet resting on the foot-board in such a way 
that the ankles are not bent at an uncomfortable 
angle. In driving two as a pair or tandem, or 
four horses, this matter of a comfortable and 
secure seat is important, and will repay consider- 
able attention. 

If for any reason — as in the case of a dog-cart 
balanced at different angles — the distance between 
the seat and the foot-board is altered, or where 



A Chapter of Little Things 303 

a child or short-legged person needs a brace for 
the feet, never under any circumstances have a 
rail. A foot-board covered with corrugated rub- 
ber made to fit in, and which can be taken out 
when not needed, is all that is necessary. A rail 
across the bottom of the foot-board, often seen in 
the lighter style of vehicles, such as buggies, buck- 
boards, and the like, is an invention of the devil 
and most dangerous. It is entirely unnecessary, 
and it is easy to catch your toe or toes underneath 
it, and the consequences may be horribly serious. 
In one case a lady, catching a low shoe under such 
a rail and struggling to get it out, was thrown 
over the dash-board between her horses and 
killed. Such a rail serves no real purpose and 
has no possible defence except a very short- 
sighted economy. If your light vehicle has such 
a rail as a rest for the feet, either take it out or 
put another rail across parallel to it so that it is 
impossible to catch even the toes underneath it. 

If a horse gets his tail over a rein, stop him 
and lift his tail off the rein ; do not jerk the rein 
from under the tail. A clever whip, driving 
tandem or four, can often, by a judicious turn- 
ing of the horse and a flick with the whip, make 
the horse take his tail off the rein himself, but 
this is for the cognoscenti ; the beginner had 
best take the safest and surest way out of trouble 
and either let the groom or his passenger help 



304 Driving 

him out. If alone, slow up, do no tugging and 
jerking, loosen the rein, turn your horse quickly 
and decidedly the other way, and flick him on the 
quarters with the whip. If it were not that every 
now and then some one is kicked in the head by 
leaning over the dash-board to get hold of the 
horse's tail, it would seem unnecessary to forbid 
absolutely such a copper-fastened fool proceeding. 

Of docked tails, bearing-reins, cruppers, and 
the like, there are, season after season, endless dis- 
cussions. The cause of the discussion is usually 
due not to a wise, but to a cruel, use of these, and is 
generally carried on in a legislature where only 
a small minority know anything of the horse 
except as a quiet farm animal, seldom driven out 
of a walk. As soon as the Society for the Pre- 
vention of Cruelty to Animals adds to its board 
of directors half a dozen theoretically and prac- 
tically competent horsemen, there will be a change 
for the better in these matters, both practically 
and legislatively. 

There are many competent horsemen who main- 
tain, and with reason, that the long tail is danger- 
ous, particularly where women and children drive ; 
that a tail over the rein may mean a mishap, and 
probably injury; that it is dirty, bedraggles and 
wets the legs, and with the fast-moving, well-cared- 
for carriage horse is unnecessary, even to his com- 
fort. This does not, on the other hand, imply that 



A Chapter of Little Things 305 

horses' tails should be docked and " set up " ; but 
it does point to a happy medium between the 
dangerous and dirty long tail and the unneces- 
sarily short dock. The question should not be 
looked upon as having but one answer. Men 
who have themselves docked horses and seen 
scores of horses docked, and who take the most 
instructed care of their horses, are naturally pro- 
voked by criticism from citizens who hardly know 
that a horse's tail has joints in it, let alone any- 
thing about the feeding, housing, or handling even 
of their own horses. 

So very few people know how much there is to 
know about the horse, that their ignorance neither 
oppresses, nor suppresses them. 

As for the bearing-rein, here again the question 
is one of use. For the misuse of the bearing-rein 
there is no defence. The bearing-rein prevents 
shaking about of the head, rubbing off of the 
bridle, catching the bit or bridle, getting the head 
down between the legs, obstinate boring; and, 
driving in town, it is a valuable piece of auxiliary 
harness. Its misuse, to hold a horse's head in an 
unnatural position and to make him lift his feet, 
is not only cruel, but vulgar — vulgar being used 
to express the type of mind that measures every- 
thing by appearances. 

The crupper keeps the saddle in place, helps 
materially to prevent the horse from getting 



3o6 Driving 

his tail over the rein, and disinclines him to 
kick. 

The breeching is, or ought to be, considered 
indispensable in a hilly country, even with light 
vehicles, and is a proper precaution in all cases 
where women or children act as coachman. 

Brakes are a French invention, and might be 
supposed to come under much the same strictures 
as the breeching. But while a breeching is useful 
and never out of place, except perhaps on the 
leaders where horses are driven in front of each 
other, the brake is so often misused, with conse- 
quent damage to the horse, the harness, the ve- 
hicle, and the skill of the driver, that it almost 
deserves a chapter by itself. In the old days of 
heavy coach-loads, the wheelers, helped by the 
skilful coachman, took the coach down hill. But 
a mistake, or a break in the harness or the pole, 
meant disaster. The brake, which cramps the 
wheels and takes some of the strain of holding 
back off the horses, was a valuable invention. 

A limited amount of alcohol given at the right 
time is an indispensable medicine and a boon to 
the race. Alcohol taken at all times and generally 
by the wrong persons, in the wrong places, is the 
curse of the Anglo-Saxon race. England, with 
one in forty of its population classed as incom- 
petent, is the story of the misuse of alcohol. 

The brake shoved on violently at every decliv- 



A Chapter of Little Things lo'-j 

ity racks the vehicles, burdens the horse by not 
allowing him to go part of his road without the 
weight of the vehicle behind him, puts unneces- 
sary strain on the harness at the wrong time, and 
tends to make the coachman careless. The brake 
shoved on with a jerk at every stop jars every- 
body in the vehicle, and has been known, not 
once, but often, to actually chuck people clean 
out of the vehicle, both behind and in front, be- 
sides bringing the horse into his collar with a 
painful galling of his shoulders. On a level place 
the brake should never be used to stop the vehicle. 
After the vehicle has been stopped, particularly if 
it be a heavy one, the brake may be put on and 
left on until the next start is made — this as a 
measure of precaution. 

Never put on the brake in any case with the 
whip in the right hand. Transfer your whip to 
the left hand and avoid the danger of flicking 
the horse in front of you by dropping it toward 
him ; or of flicking the passengers behind you by 
dropping it toward them ; and above all avoid the 
danger of breaking or losing your whip altogether. 
When the brake is to be put on, you need your 
whole hand to do it. Put on and take off the 
brake quietly. Knowing horses will often start 
off at the sound of the brake. The brake should 
not be regarded as a regular part of the harness. 
It is good for a horse to do some holding-back 



3o8 Driving 

work, and a bad habit to get him to the point 
where he shirks this part of the work, or refuses 
to do it at all. Then in case the brake does not 
work, or you are without one, the refusal may 
cause trouble. The brake is only for use when 
there is too much strain on horse and harness — 
not for use every time we go down the smallest 
declivity. Such use of it spoils rather than helps 
the horse. It is torture to a passenger to see and 
feel the brake go on, before the descent is reached 
even, and then kept on yards after there is no 
need of it. As a matter of fact, good men and 
good horses are able to negotiate any ordinary 
road, without any brake at all ; it is a precautionary 
measure and a convenience. But for all driving 
in hilly country by the average coachman it 
should not be omitted, nor should it be mis- 
used. Where other people share the danger, it 
is always best to err on the safe side. Do not 
start down any hill fast. With a heavy load, and 
horses well in hand, you may put on steam toward 
the bottom and give the cattle a little relief. In 
going up a hill, do not become impatient and 
urge horses into a faster pace before you reach the 
brow of the hill. It is hard on a horse to pull up 
a hill, and then to be forced into a trot just before 
reaching the top, where the strain is hardest. Once 
on the level, give a little breathing-space and then 
start along. Remember always, whether going 



A Chapter of Little Things 309 

down hill, or approaching a troublesome crowd of 
vehicles, or with a corner to turn ahead of you, 
that the time to slow up is before you get there. 
You should slow up with your eyes, and stop with 
your hands. That is to say, you should begin 
operations as soon as your eyes discover trouble 
ahead, and not leave it to the last moment ; and 
then, with your hands in the air, your back at an 
angle of 45°, your horses on their haunches, and 
the carriage on top of them, just save yourself. 
It is much easier to avoid trouble than to get out 
of it. If you are alone, and with no one depend- 
ent upon you for support, your neck is your own ; 
but with passengers, for whose safety you have 
tacitly pledged yourself, the moment you take 
the reins you have no right to take the smallest 
risk, and besides you are in honor bound to use 
your very best efforts for their safety and com- 
fort. Above all things do not fancy that you are 
a coachman, because you own horses and can 
drive them. Bad driving in New York is re- 
sponsible for one death a day the year round. 

The hands should be carried under average cir- 
cumstances at about the level of the watch chain 
when worn in the lower waistcoat pocket; the 
arm horizontal from the elbow, which position 
puts the hands slightly lower than the elbow. 
But this direction should not for a moment be 
taken as a hard and fast rule. You will see first- 



3IO Driving 

rate coachmen, some with the hand higher, some 
with the hand lower than this. The reasons for 
the differences are simple. With a nicely bitted 
team in a show ring or in the Park, where a 
touch is enough, the left hand if raised a little can 
be turned more easily, the points can be made by 
the right hand with less movement, and there is 
no danger of tiring either hand or arm. On the 
other hand, the coachman who has a fifty-mile 
drive before him, with many different horses to 
handle, will place his hand lower, with more com- 
fort to himself, and with less risk of numbing his 
hand and arm. 

Driving with the hands held up under the chin, 
or out in front of one, as though presenting a 
visiting-card on a tray, are merely the monkey 
mannerisms of the ignorant. This is often the 
result of having seen others drive without under- 
standing the reasons for their position of the 
hands. Those most accomplished coachmen, 
Howlett, father and son, in teaching hold the 
hands higher than the ordinary for the very 
sufficient reason that they can handle a team 
admirably, this way or any other way, and because 
it is much easier to show the pupil what is going 
on with the reins and fingers in that position. 
But when young Howlett so easily distanced his 
competitors, and won the five-hundred-dollar 
prize at the Madison Square Garden, he did not 



A Chapter of Little Things 311 

handle the reins in an exaggerated or conspicuous 
fashion. Holding the hands too high is con- 
spicuously awkward, besides showing the per- 
former to be ignorant of his business and making 
it exceedingly difficult to pull up quietly and 
quickly. It may be set down as an axiom, that 
the coachman who looks self-conscious and in a 
strained position is doing something he does not 
understand, because he guesses it is right. A 
snob may be borne with on dry land ; but on the 
cushion he is dangerous. The institutional bore 
who illustrates the evident, explains the obvious, 
and expatiates on the commonplace is merely an 
irritant at dinner; but at the helm of a boat or 
behind horses his slovenly omniscience presages, 
or prepares for, disaster. 

But more than any other one thing, inattention 
is the cause of most accidents. Something goes 
wrong because the coachman, through inattention, 
was unprepared for it, and then things happen 
that cannot be avoided. Nine runaways out of 
ten begin with carelessness ; once started there is 
no help this side of a smash-up. You may see 
not once, but ten times, a day the owner of a 
vehicle put down his reins, get out, and instead of 
going to the horse's head, until the groom can 
get to the reins, walk off. The writer has seen 
two expensive smash-ups due to the fact that a 
high-strung horse, startled by a noise or an 



312 Driving 

unexpected sight, broke away while the groom was 
getting from the horse's head to the seat. A 
horse finding himself entirely and unexpectedly 
at liberty, loses his head more often than not, and 
then does any mad thing, from kicking to running 
away, that comes easiest. 

The harness-horse, it is to be remembered, is 
always under control, and just to feel no restrain- 
ing hand is in and of itself enough to upset him. 
Very few horses if restrained in time can get 
away with a fairly strong man, but no man living 
can stop two, or even one, much less four horses, 
once they get the jump on him and a good gal- 
loping start. The important thing is to keep such 
watch and ward that the horse gets no chance to 
get even one jump before he is pulled up, and that 
means ceaseless vigilance. If you have had acci- 
dents, — and if you have ridden or driven much, you 
have had accidents, — you will recall that the cause 
was unexpected, and things happened just at that 
particular fraction of a second when you were off 
your guard. In teaching any one to drive, par- 
ticularly children, this point cannot be too much 
emphasized. The eyes, so to speak, should be in 
the boat, or in equine parlance on the horse, the 
whole livelong time, — from the moment you take 
up the reins till some one has the horse's head at 
the end of the journey. Lacking this fundamen- 
tal axiom of all driving, everything else goes for 
nothing. 



A Chapter of Little Things 313 

The whip should be used smartly and for a 
purpose, or not at all. It is best to hit your 
horse forward of his pad or saddle, except where 
in tandem or four-in-hand driving the leaders 
should be hit on the hind legs, under, not above, 
the trace. Never, in any kind of driving, use your 
whip with the rein in the same hand as the whip. 
To hit a horse with the whip, and to jab him in 
the mouth at the same time, renders both signals 
incomprehensible. 

The reins should never be flopped about on 
the horse's back in lieu of the whip. This jabs 
the mouth, confuses the horse, and puts him not 
only to confusion, but out of your direct control. 
The connection between hand and bit should 
never be cut off while the horse is in motion, 
any more than you should unship your rudder 
while sailing a boat. Do not turn corners too 
fast nor too soon. When the hub of your front 
wheel is opposite the corner you are to turn, even 
if you be too close on that side, there is little 
danger of hitting even with the hind wheel. 
Above all things, look where you are going and 
watch your horse ! In any sport where the pleas- 
ure and safety of others are in your keeping, to 
show off or to take risks is unpardonable and 
dangerous folly. 

" Form," of which we hear so much in relation 
to driving, is here as everywhere else either 



314 Driving 

rational or ridiculous. Form is rational when it 
is the proper clothing of an idea ; form is ridicu- 
lous when it is merely an idea of proper clothing. 
When you dress comfortably, and sit securely, and 
hold the reins firmly and lightly, you drive in 
good form because you are obeying the well- 
thought-out laws of the sport. When you merely 
copy the externals without knowing why, you are 
ridiculous. This is the whole secret of form. 
One is matter, the other is merely manner. One 
is rational, the other ridiculous. 



CHAPTER XII 

DRIVING ONE HORSE 

Once you have a horse and know something 
of his make-up inside and out, and have housed 
him properly, and bought his harness and learned 
something of its use, the next thing is to make 
the connection, first between the horse and the 
vehicle, and then between yourself and the horse. 

The carriage should be run out first, the pole 
or shafts put in place and dusted, the proper whip 
and robes got together. It may be well for the 
owner to realize that a man alone should have at 
least three-quarters of an hour to turn out on the 
box of a brougham or Victoria, proportionally 
less time for a runabout or other light carriage, 
on which he is to appear in stable clothes. The 
horse should be brought out of or turned in his 
stall and attached to the pillar-reins, and his feet, 
coat, and head gone over. The collar should then 
be stretched and put over his head, being careful 
not to rub hard against the eye-bones in so doing, 
fasten on the hames, and turn* the collar into 
place. It is easier to fasten hames on to the 
collar before the collar is turned. Then put on 

315 



3i6 Driving 

the bridle, seeing to it that the bit is in its proper 
place, as well as the winkers, and that both sides 
of the bridle are of the same length. The saddle 
should be placed first well back on the horse, so 
that the crupper may be put under the tail with- 
out undue pulling and hauling. Then place the 
saddle where it belongs on the horse's back, and 
tighten up the girth. Run the reins through 
their terrets and fasten them to the bit, and 
lead your horse out and back him into the shafts. 
Never take hold of the bit in leading him out 
but by the nose-band. If you slip or stumble or 
he throws his head, if you have him by the bit 
you jab him in the mouth, and then even before 
he is in the vehicle he is sensitive and restive. 
Put your horse as near the carriage as possible 
without danger of hitting when in motion. The 
tug girth, which holds the shafts, should be 
tight enough to hold the shafts in place in a 
four-wheeled carriage, but loose enough to allow 
a certain amount of play in two-wheeled carriages. 
Where, as in a gig harness, the play is given by 
the tug itself, this is not necessary. 

In unharnessing, take off the bearing-rein, un- 
fasten the traces, then the tug girth — not vice 
versa, so that if a horse starts forward there will be 
something to prevent the carriage running on his 
heels. Always loosen a curb-chain before taking 
off a bridle, — this applies equally to the horse in 



Driving One Horse 317 

harness or under saddle, — and lastly the breech- 
ing. The reins should be unbuckled from the bit, 
drawn back through the terrets, and hung over the 
arm or out of the way. Take off the pad, turn 
the collar, and take off the hames, then turn the 
collar back and leave it in its place a few minutes 
to prevent galled shoulders. The bit and curb- 
chain should be thrown into the bucket of lime 
water, or at any rate cleaned carefully at once. 
It is much easier to prevent rust than to get 
it off. 

In taking out a pair, the reins should be un- 
buckled first of all and pulled through from the 
front. If you drive into the stable, do it your- 
self before dismounting. In taking off the traces, 
begin with the inside one, then the outside one, 
then the pole-chains or pole-pieces. Take off the 
saddles, turn the collars, remove the hames, leav- 
ing collars on as before. It is a great saving of 
time, and lessens confusion, to fix the habit of 
both harnessing and unharnessing in a regular 
way, until it becomes mechanical; and mistakes 
are not made, and accidents do not happen, be- 
cause the habit of doing things properly has 
become fixed. Have your buckle-rein on off- 
side horse. First, because that marks the rein, 
and, secondly, because as that rein is the one not 
thrown across there is less likelihood of hitting 
and hurting the attendant on that side. 



3i8 Driving 

Before you take the reins in your hand look 
over the trap, harness, and horse, and see that all 
is right. The stop on the shafts should by all 
means be behind the tugs ; the traces, collar, 
breeching, bridle, girths, bit, bearing-rein, should 
be looked over, first, to see if you may drive in 
safety, and then to confirm you in what you have 
learned about these things. 

Take the reins in the left hand, the near rein 
over the second finger, the off rein between the 
third and fourth finger. No matter what the 
vehicle is, take the whip with you when you get 
into it. The whip in the socket is in the way, 
and the whip should be almost as constantly in the 
hands as the reins anyway, so that it is better to 
begin with the whip where it belongs. Then place 
the reins in the right hand with the whip, mount 
to your place, take your seat quickly, change the 
reins back into the left hand, see that they are 
about the right length without feeling your horse's 
mouth, which would make him start before you 
are ready, and you are ready to send your first 
telegram to your horse. Do it discreetly, gently, 
and if you are not where your voice will disturb 
other horses, add a word of some kind, prefer- 
ably a signal not in common use between men 
and horses. A horse learns quickly to recognize, 
and does not forget, his owner's voice. That voice 
encourages, soothes, or commands him. But where 



Driving One Horse 319 

you are driving with or surrounded by others, the 
use of your voice in the well-known click or chir- 
rup would disturb all the horses and coachmen 
about you. It is easy to accustom your own 
horses to any phrase : " Come on now," " Look 
alive," or even " What's the matter?" which con- 
veys no message to other horses and at the same 
time rouses your own. The writer has an inti- 
mate acquaintance with several horses who will 
start into action at hearing " Come on now," in 
a well-known voice. 

Nothing is more disagreeable at a railway 
station, in a hurly-burly of traps and horses, 
than the clicking and clucking and snapping 
of whips, which, while meant for one or two 
horses, disturb half a dozen. Two-thirds of the 
coachmen on private carriages catch sight of 
their masters, flap the horses with the reins, swing 
the whip, and chirrup ; and yet they would be sur- 
prised to be told that they do not know the rudi- 
ments of driving. Nothing smacks more of the 
farmer than a man who, behind you, or passing 
you, or standing near you and wishing to start, 
clicks or clucks to his horse, starting your horse 
up at the same time. A man who cannot start 
one, two, or four horses with his hands, and 
without a hullabaloo of noise, is unworthy to 
sit behind horses at all. If your horses are new 
to your stable, or awkward and untrained, feel 



320 Driving 

the mouth gently, and if this is not understood 
or is misunderstood, use the whip gently and 
make your start in that way. The perfection 
of starting is to have the horse feel his bit on 
his bars almost exactly at the moment his shoul- 
ders feel the collar — a fraction of a lightning 
stroke after, to be exact. 

When you are ready to start either out of the 
stable or from the door, have the man stand clear. 
No leading of the horse forward, no pulling at 
bit or nose-band ; give the horse a chance to 
learn what you want of him without puzzling 
him with a variety of signals. 

It is a little ahead of time to speak of it here, 
but, lest we forget, it may be mentioned at once. 
Never allow the groom or grooms to stop your 
horse or horses, whether one, two, or four, when 
you drive into the stable. This makes horses 
restless, makes them back, slide, or kick, and in 
the case of a four may result in a general mix- 
up. Stop your horses gradually, with voice and 
reins, but stop them yourself. They have come 
in from the drive more or less accustomed to 
your hands and ways, according as you are more 
or less proficient, and a rough hand on bit or nose, 
and an apparition in front of them, ought to, 
and generally does, upset them. Besides all this 
you ought to, and they ought to know how 
to stop properly, and without fuss or flurry ex- 



Driving One Horse 321 

actly when and where you wish them to, even if 
it be on the cement floor of your stable entrance. 

The reins should be held with the near rein 
between the thumb and first finger, the off 
rein between the third and fourth fingers. Hold 
your hand so that your knuckles, turned toward 
your horse, and the buttons on your waistcoat, 
will make two parallel lines up and down with 
the hand three or four inches from the body. 
The reins should be clasped, or held by the two 
lower, or fourth and fifth fingers; the second 
finger should point straight across and upward 
enough to keep the near rein over the knuckle 
of that finger and the thumb pointing in the 
same direction, but not so much upward. The 
reins are held, not by squeezing them on their 
flat surface, but by pressure on their edges. The 
edges, in a w^ord, being held between the two 
last fingers and the root of the thumb. This 
arrangement makes a flexible joint, the wrist, for 
the reins and for the bit to play upon. This 
suppleness of the wrist, just enough and not too 
much, is what is called " hands." It means, that 
your wrist gives just enough play to the horse's 
mouth to enable him to feel your influence, with- 
out being either confused or hampered by it. 

As this is the key to perfection in all driving, 
everybody claims to possess it ; only the elect few 
have it. 



322 Driving 

Practically everybody can learn to play the 
piano or the violin, or to write tolerable verses ; 
only a very few, indeed, ever attain to supreme 
command over these instruments, or over the 
music of words. Training and teaching may 
accomplish much and make fair or even excellent 
performers; but beyond that it is divine grace, 
born not made, given not attained. The same is 
true of driving : you may be one of the elect, but 
if you are, you belong to a society as small as 
that of the Knights of the Garter, and you need 
not be vain, since it was no hard work of yours, 
but an endowment. It is a combination of physi- 
cal and mental traits, a quickness of connection 
between nerve and brain and muscle, that may 
be cultivated and improved in all men, but which 
reaches perfection only in the few. Corbett, in 
" An Old Coachman's Chatter," says, " Even for 
a good amateur to acquire professional style re- 
quires two years averaging eighty miles a day, 
with a fair amount of night work." 

A persistent man may do much. He may learn 
to write excellent verse, with no hope of ever being 
a poet; he may learn to jump higher than the av- 
erage, without the slightest prospect of doing six 
feet, six and a half inches, which thus far has only 
been done by one man in the world ; he may learn 
to run, or swim, or speak, but the heights of the 
unexcelled are not for him. This much ought to be 



Driving One Horse 323 

said about driving at the start. You may read books 
from now till doomsday, and you may practise, and 
you will undoubtedly become an excellent and 
trustworthy coachman, far above the average, — 
not a difficult attainment, by the way, — but to 
have this magic of " hands " is not, I believe, at- 
tainable except to those endowed physically and 
mentally with peculiar powers, in peculiar com- 
bination. It is because everybody thinks he 
knows how to drive, simply because he can steer 
quadrupeds with steel in their mouths, that this 
point is emphasized. No one need neglect this 
sport on the ground that the vision and the attain- 
ment are limited ; they are not, and to most men 
even confident competence is denied, not to speak 
of this virtuosity of hands. 

Now that you are in your seat with the reins 
as they should be, between the thumb and second 
and between the third and fourth fingers of your 
left hand, wrist properly bent, and in a sufficiently 
humble and docile state of mind, you should no- 
tice why the reins are separated by two fingers 
instead of one, and why the near rein is kept so 
far as possible over the knuckle of the second 
finger. Just as the wrist makes play backward 
and forward, so this separation of the reins enables 
you to make play sideways or across the horse's 
mouth. By turning your hand toward you, so 
that the knuckles, instead of facing the horse, face 



324 Driving 

the sky, you shorten that upper rein, the near 
rein, and your horse goes over to the left, or near 
side. By turning your hand just the other way 
and bringing it across to the left hip, you shorten 
the off rein and turn your horse to the right. 
All done with one hand, you still have the other 
for your whip, to render any assistance needed. 
There are scores of times when to steer your 
horse, and still to have the right hand free, means 
not merely convenience, but safety. 

It is a peculiarity of driving that it is almost 
the one sport in which the sportsman is the 
custodian of, and responsible for, other people. 
A man rides, shoots, and does other dangerous 
things alone, but nine times out of ten he drives 
with others alongside of him. It is doubly neces- 
sary, therefore, that he should know his business 
thoroughly, and, if he is to make a practice of 
driving others, that he should spare no pains to 
know all that he can. 

The fact that the left hand is held as directed 
keeps the reins secure, and keeps them secure 
with the least possible exertion. As this position 
of the hand, wrist, and fingers is a little awkward 
at first to the beginner, most driving is done with 
the wrist not held across the body, but pointing 
toward the horse, with the thumb held over the 
reins as a sort of clip and pointing also toward 
the horse. The reins held in this fashion are of 



Driving One Horse 325 

necessity Insecure and forever slipping forward, 
and there is no leverage of wrist for the horse's 
mouth, but a straight pull from an outstretched 
arm. 

One often hears the comment that one cannot 
as easily hold a horse this way as with the reins, 
say in both hands. That is exactly the secret of 
it. It is just so that you cannot keep a dead pull 
on the poor brute's mouth that this position is the 
ideal one. You don't want to pull your horse, 
but to drive him. Most driving, by the way, seems 
to have as its central feature how to stop him, 
rather than how to make him go pleasantly; 
how to get the quickest and sharpest jerk on his 
mouth in case of trouble, rather than how to exert 
the least possible pressure that will command 
obedience. With a well-bitted horse, you should 
be able to make figure eights by moving the left 
hand as directed without touching the reins with 
the right hand at all. The position of the hired 
coachman on the box of a Victoria or brougham 
these days is a ludicrous one for the reason that 
most of them, and evidently their masters, know 
nothing of the reason for that position. It was 
intended by balancing the coachman thus to pre- 
vent his putting great weight on the reins, as he 
might do if his feet and legs stuck out in front of 
him and his hands were held at arm's length. 
It is well and proper that he should be balanced 



326 Driving 

on his seat with his back hollowed in, his elbows 
at his side, his hand across and in front of him ; 
but tucking his legs and feet back and way under- 
neath him defeats the whole plan by forcing him 
to hold on by the reins, which is just what it was 
hoped to avoid. His feet and legs, as in the case 
of the gentleman coachman, should be at such an 
angle in front of him that he has a perfectly easy 
balance and something to brace against in case 
he needs to exert extra power. On a lady's light 
Victoria, with nothing but the narrow footboard 
in front of him, a coachman in this new-fangled 
position is not only a figure of fun, but he is also 
in grave danger of accident. This monkey-on-a- 
stick attitude is a blundering misinterpretation of 
a perfectly sensible rule. 

So far as the amateur coachman is concerned, 
he should sit straight, with his back so hollowed 
that he can balance easily on his hips, not on the 
edge of, but on the cushion, with his feet and legs 
at a comfortable angle, and without that look of 
going out after the reins one so often sees — a 
care-worn, bent-over position, as though the reins 
were sliding away, never to reappear. 

Start out moderately, keep your horse at an 
even pace, and come in toward the end of your 
journey again at a moderate pace. A horse is 
not saved by doing ten miles an two hours in- 
stead of one. On the contrary, it takes less out of 



Driving One Horse 327 

a horse to make him do his journey at a smart 
gait rather than to dawdle. You may have 
noticed yourself that a brisk two hours' walk 
takes far less out of you than the standing 
around, the stopping and starting, and the gen- 
eral dawdling of two hours' shopping. Here 
again the size of the horse's stomach should help 
to solve the problem of how fast and how far. It 
is better that he should do his task at a brisk 
pace and get back to his rub down, his meal, and 
his rest, than that he should be jogged for a long 
time at a stretch. Even when it is necessary to 
keep him going and to keep him away from his 
stable for an undue number of hours, which must 
sometimes happen, he should be given a short 
rest and a small meal of soft food ; this will make 
all the difference between over fatigue that may 
result seriously, and fatigue easily cured by proper 
rest. A horse worked at regular hours, and regu- 
larly and properly fed, is three-quarters of the 
way toward being and keeping in good condition. 
Just as he should be started quietly, so he 
should be stopped quietly. It is not the mark 
of good driving to bring your one horse, or your 
team, up to the stopping-place at a quick pace, 
and then to pull up with a jerk — the horse's head 
in the air, his mouth open because he has been 
jabbed by the bit, the shafts pointing up, the 
breeching tight, and the horse almost on his 



328 Driving 

haunches. This kind of stopping takes more 
out of a horse than a mile of hard work. Begin 
to stop some time before you stop. Shorten your 
reins, decrease your pace, and whether it is driv- 
ing in the traffic of the street or at your own 
door, slow up gradually. You can tell with cer- 
tainty whether a man knows his business by the 
way he starts and stops. If you have stopped 
as you should, the horse is not sitting in the 
breeching, with his collar sliding toward the top 
of his head ; but horse and vehicle are stopped, 
and yet the horse and the vehicle and harness 
are all in position to go on again without a jerk. 
This is of the utmost importance in driving in 
the city streets, where you may find yourself in 
serious trouble if, through inattention, you have 
driven well into trouble, before planning to stop. 
Your horse's nose, or your pole, has poked into 
another horse or vehicle, or you are obliged to 
pull up so suddenly that you throw your horse, or 
horses down. 

In America, where we turn to the right, pull 
well over to your own side and slow down before 
you get to the street corner around which you 
wish to go, whether to the right or left. Leave 
ample room for another vehicle to pass, even 
though you should meet just at the turn. Many 
horses, awkwardly enough, get their legs crossed 
when turning, and on slippery pavements, where 



Driving One Horse 329 

the pull up and the pull round come at the same 
time, a horse is very apt to stumble, and even to 
fall. Because you have turned many corners with- 
out accident is no reason for not taking pains. 
Many young coachmen escape perils through 
sheer ignorance, but persistence in error and in- 
attention bring their punishment sooner or later, 
and the horse skins his knees, or slides under the 
shafts in a crowd, or kicks and hammers harness 
and trap to bits. It is too late then to remember 
to keep an eye out for what is going on ahead of 
you, to turn corners carefully, and to slacken speed 
gradually, and not all at once. 

It is a safe rule in turning a corner to turn 
only when the hub of your front wheel has 
reached the line that the curb would make if 
prolonged, then there is no danger of running on 
to or against the corner itself. Even when turn- 
ing a corner to the right, and you are close to the 
curb, this rule, if obeyed, will keep both front and 
back wheels clear. If this is not done, the back 
wheel, and sometimes both, go rubbing around 
the curbstone, which, aside from the slovenliness 
of the performance, is damaging to the wheel, 
and racking to every bolt in the carriage. If in 
the country, where often a large stone marks the 
angle of the turn, to hit this stone or to go over 
it is often to go over altogether. 

The safest and quickest way to shorten the 



332 Driving 

tinually, or flick him, here and there, from time to 
time, out of sheer idleness and inconsequence; 
but if you use it, do it so that the horse knows it 
is punishment and not play ; otherwise you waste 
the benefit to be derived from the whip, by accus- 
toming the horse to think that in your use of the 
whip you are merely playing with him. Above 
all, keep a good lookout ahead, and if you have a 
horse that is worth driving at all, you may be 
sure that it is also worth your while to keep an 
eye on him all the time. 



CHAPTER XIII 

DRIVING A PAIR 

So much depends upon the comfort of the horse 
in his harness that it is well worth the owner's 
time and attention to learn how the harness 
should be put on, how the horses should be put to, 
and then to see that both are done properly. 

The collar goes on first, and where horses are 
worked hard, and regularly, as in a road coach or 
on a driving tour, it is well to put the collars on, 
and leave them on a few moments before the rest 
of the harnessing is done. The collar thus gets 
warm against the neck, and there is that much 
less danger of rubbing and chafing the skin, and 
making a bad start. The usual custom is to put 
the collar on with the hames attached. It is 
better to fasten the hames about the collar after 
the collar is on the horse, thus avoiding the 
tendency to squeeze the collar on over his head. 
After the saddle is on, the crupper under the tail, 
and the saddle-girth loosely buckled to keep the 
saddle in place, then is the time to tighten up the 
hames. The traces are crossed over the back of 
each horse with the outside trace on top. The bridle 

333 



334 Driving 

is then put on, and the reins drawn through the 
pad-terrets,and the outside or draught rein buckled 
to the bit, the inside or coupHng rein fastened to 
the nose-band underneath by passing the billet 
through the loop, but without buckling it. Then 
take the rein, double it, pass the bight of it 
through the terret, with the loop over the bearing- 
rein hook. 

The horses are now ready to be led out by the 
nose-band, not by the bit, and put to. Bring the 
horses up from behind alongside the pole, rather 
than toward the pole, when they must be turned, 
and pushed up to the pole. Once there, fasten 
them to the pole, and buckle the pole-strap at the 
end hole, the near horse first, then the off horse. 
Next fasten the traces, the outside one always 
first. This seems awkward, and like doing things 
upside down. The reason for it, however, is all- 
sufficient. If the inside trace is put on first, the 
horse may, often does, in fact, edge out from the 
pole at the touch of something on the pole side 
of him, and there is a struggle to get him back 
so that the outside trace may be put on. This 
may upset the other horse, and trouble follows. 

Here, and at all other times, remember that in 
dealing with horses, under every and all condi- 
tions, a stitch in time saves at least eighteen. 
Therefore put the outside trace on first, then the 
inside trace, then proceed to pole up your horses, 



Driving a Pair 335 

that is to say, put your pole-pieces through the 
kidney-link from the inside out, and tighten them 
up to what you consider the proper length. 
This adjustment is a very nice one, and can only 
be done accurately by one who, when driving, 
notes carefully the effect upon pole, pole-pieces, 
and collars, of a hole more or less. The horses 
should not carry the pole, through being poled 
too tight; neither should the pole go bobbing 
about, through being poled too loose. Over 
rough roads, horses should be poled up rather 
loosely, to give play to the pole ; otherwise, every 
jar will swing and bump the whole vehicle. In 
park driving, or driving over smooth roads, they 
may be poled up more closely. 

The more compact are horses, vehicle, and 
coachman acting together as one, the more easily 
and smoothly everything goes ; but this is not to 
be interpreted as approval of poling up horses so 
tight that they are carrying the pole, and are 
cramped and impeded. Pole-pieces of leather, or 
chains, are a matter of custom. No vehicle has 
chains where the coachman drives ; while a mail- 
phaeton, or lady's phaeton, where the master or 
mistress drives, usually has chains rather than 
leather. An authority to be depended upon 
always in such matters, writes : " Pole chains 
should be used only on a carriage driven by the 
master or mistress, such as a coach, mail-phaeton. 



336 Driving 

or lady's phaeton ; never on a carriage driven by 
a coachman, such as a landau, coupe, or Victoria, 
when straps should be used. This is a custom 
based upon the fact that the working originals 
of coaches and mail-phaetons had chains ; an 
adherence to it marks the difference between 
well turned out and badly turned out vehicles." 
Both breastplates and pole-pieces should go, the 
former round both collar and hames, and the lat- 
ter round the collar and through the kidney-link 
ring and not through the ring alone; otherwise 
the small strap at the top of the collar holding 
the hames together is the only safeguard, and 
should this break, away goes your pole, and 
probably your horses. But this precaution is only 
necessary in heavy work. The breastplate holds 
even if the hame-strap breaks, and to put the 
pole-straps around the collar chafes the horse's 
neck. 

After the horses are poled up and their traces 
fastened, the coupling-reins are fastened to the 
bits. Certain writers on the subject advise buc- 
kling the coupling-reins first of all. The writer 
has no criticism to pass upon this, except that 
experience shows that fastening two horses to- 
gether by the head, and then going to their heels 
for the traces, often works badly. As long as 
they are fastened together by their collars to the 
pole it is not a matter of much moment anyway. 



Driving a Pair z^j 

It is a matter for one's own judgment and experi- 
ence rather than of fixed law. All the other 
matters of precedence and procedure in harness- 
ing have a rational sanction which makes them 
imperative. 

The reins are buckled together on the off side 
and, as in the case of each single rein, the bight 
of them passed through the off pad-terret of the 
off horse and looped over the bearing-rein hook. 
Your pair is now ready for your inspection ; this 
done, and as you are about to take the reins, the 
bearing-reins are put on their hooks. In the case 
of green or nervous horses it is well to start 
them off first, fastening the bearing-reins as they 
move off, and thus avoid jibbing, backing, and 
even rearing in the stable. Take the reins in the 
right hand with the middle finger between them, 
see that the buckles of both reins are the same 
length from your hand, pull both reins out some 
ten inches, then give the off rein a few inches 
more, get your whip in your hand, mount to your 
seat, sit down, put your reins in your left hand 
with the index and middle finger between them, 
and you will find yourself with both reins of 
about the same length and of about the right 
length. Another measure of the proper length 
of the reins before mounting is to hold the reins 
in the left hand, step back until you are on a line 
with the horse's hocks, holding the left hand 



338 Driving 

close to the body. When seated the reins will be 
of the right length (Plate XXIX.). 

Always ask if everything is right before you 
feel the mouths of the horses. The groom 
may be just putting on a last touch, or he may 
be looking the other way, as you give the signal 
to start, and there follows a lame foot, or even 
a knock-down ; and so much depends upon a 
fair start that it is worth some pains to get it. 

The whip should be held at the place where 
the ferrule goes round the handle, as all good 
whip-makers make their whips to balance at that 
point (Plate XXIX.). The knees and feet should be 
together; the feet not poked out as though you 
were standing on them, nor tucked under you 
as though you were ashamed of them. You 
will balance better if you sit straight with your 
back hollowed in at the small of it. To lengthen 
or shorten the reins put the right hand on the 
reins in front of the left with the little and fourth 
finger on the right hand or off rein, leaving the 
left hand or near rein between the fourth and 
middle fingers, and the thumb and index finger 
over the same — the near rein (Plate XXIX.). You 
may shorten the reins now, by just so much, as 
you place the right hand in front of the left, by 
sliding the left hand up to the right, and taking 
your grip again. It is best to do this gradually, 
taking in a little of the reins at a time, rather 



Driving a Pair 339 

than by taking ten or twelve inches at a time. 
Whether it be the left or the right hand that is 
in front, the hand in front should for the time 
being hold the reins. Never, under any circum- 
stances, get the thumb under the near rein nor 
the little finger under the off rein, a very com- 
mon and faulty practice. The reason being that 
in such a situation your right hand is hampered 
in moving quickly, by having the thumb under 
the rein, your left hand likewise by having the 
little finger under instead of on top of the rein. 
As all these movements should be made mechani- 
cally, without looking at the reins, the fingers 
should be so placed and kept that there is no 
mixing up in the process. The right hand 
indeed should do its fingering of the reins as 
quickly and accurately as a practised pianoforte 
player picks out and strikes his notes. 

In stopping, place the right hand on the reins 
from eight to ten inches in front of the left, as 
described above, press the right hand in toward 
the body while raising the left hand. If this is 
not enough, hold the reins in the right hand, pass 
the left in front, and take in more rein, the right 
coming forward again to the front place. In an 
emergency, it is always safest to pull the reins 
through from behind with the right hand (Plate 
XXIX.). To the inexperienced this is quicker and 
safer, whether with two reins or four. In driving 



340 Driving 

a pair of " roadsters," so called, they are put to 
with their heads far apart, and bitted with plain 
snaffle-bits. Such a pair must be driven with two 
hands, one rein in each hand, in order to keep an 
even pressure upon their mouths. 

Before you have gone very far along a straight 
road you will notice, unless you are driving a 
thoroughly made, mannered, and properly put 
together pair, that one horse does more work 
than the other, or that one horse seems to be in 
front of the other. This is caused by the forma- 
tion of the horses, the length of the traces, the 
coupling-reins. Traces stretch with wear, and 
when this has become apparent, the shorter traces 
should be used on the inside ; if they are on the 
outside, it is easy to see that this will put the pull 
on the collar where it should not be, and gall the 
shoulders. The lazier or shorter horse should be 
in shorter traces. As to the coupling-reins, this is, 
strange to say and to see, a part of the harness 
that many drivers of horses never examine, and 
never alter, any more than they think of trying 
to change the diameter of their wheels. As a 
matter of fact, the coupling-reins are the key to 
the problem of driving a pair or a four com- 
fortably. 

If you will examine a pair of two-horse reins, 
you will notice that they are just like the two reins 
for one horse — one rein goes on the outside of 





First position of reins 



Proper position of whip and reins 





Shortening reins from behind Shortening reins from in front 

PLATE XXIX. —DRIVING A PAIR 



Driving a Pair 341 

the bit of one horse, and one goes on the outside 
of the bit of the other horse. These are called the 
draught-reins. But there is a marked difference, 
for on each of these reins is buckled another 
rein, called the coupling-rein; the one on the left 
rein goes over and is buckled on the inside of the 
bit of the right-hand horse, and the coupling-rein 
of the right rein goes over and is buckled on the 
inside of the bit of the left-hand or near horse. 
In buckling these coupling-reins to the bits, if one 
horse is more up-headed than the other, let his 
coupling-rein be on top, so that he will not annoy 
the other horse by jerking up the other's coupling- 
rein. The adjustment of these reins should be 
suited to the conformation and disposition of the 
horses, and it is in this adjustment that the expe- 
rienced whip makes himself and his horses com- 
fortable, by making them go together, and go 
level. No two horses suit each other exactly as 
to length of body or neck, or the way of carrying 
the head, and yet you may see dozens of pairs of 
reins where the coupling-rein buckles have ap- 
parently never been changed! The buckles of 
the coupling-reins should be near enough to the 
hand in pair or four driving — say eighteen inches 
— to enable one to change the couplings from the 
driving-cushion. In most harnesses there are 
two or three holes in the billet that buckles to the 
bit, so that the length may be changed also at the 



342 Drwing 

bit. There are arguments for and against this 
practice of having holes in the billet. It is said 
that this makes it easy to change a coupling from 
the ground ; on the other hand, an ignorant groom 
may make the change there unknown to the 
coachman, and thus cause confusion. Take your 
choice ! 

The object of these two inside, or coupling, 
reins is to hold the horses together, at the head, of 
course, and they should be so adjusted that an 
even pressure is brought to bear on both sides of 
the horses' mouths, so that they will go straight, 
and do each his share of the work. If horses 
were all alike, it would be easy enough to buckle 
these coupling-reins in the same hole on each 
draught-rein, and your horses would be level. 
But suppose we have two horses, one of which, 
the near horse, carries his head higher than the 
other and out farther than the other. If these two 
are to go level, the near horse must have his reins 
longer than those of his mate. Up and down the 
draught-reins are punched some fifteen holes 
in four-in-hand harness, fewer in pair-horse har- 
ness, and an inch apart, and the coupling-reins can 
be buckled longer or shorter by buckling up and 
down these reins. In the case we are describing, 
we must of course let out the coupling-rein of the 
up-headed, near side horse, say three holes, and 
(remember that the near side coupling-rein is the 



Driving a Pair 343 

one buckled on to the off side draught-rein and 
vice versa) take up the near side coupling-rein 
the same number. 

It must be remembered in this operation, how- 
ever, that the shortening of the coupling-rein 
brings the horses' heads nearer together, and if 
they were going properly, parallel to the pole, and 
at the right distance apart, before one coupling- 
rein was shortened, then, if this relative position 
to one another is to be maintained, the other 
coupling-rein must be let out an equal number of 
holes. 



" When the horses are working exactly alike, the reins are 
as shown by the heavy lines ; A and B are the two sides of the 
off horse's bit, and C and D the two sides of the near horse's 
bit. The two outside or draught reins run straight to the 
coachman's hand, viz. AMa.nd DN. The coupling-reins are 
CJ/and BN, buckled to the draught-reins Mand N. If the 
off horse bends his neck so as to bring his head nearer to his 
body, both the reins which run to his bit will be too slack, 
and he will run forward and do more than his share of the 
work, while the near horse is held back. To prevent this 



344 Driving 

the off horse's coupling-rein to BN is shortened by running 
it up the draught-rein to JST, the last hole, until it comes just 
tight to the bit ; but this obviously leaves the off draught-rein 
AMsLS slack as it was before, so that the coachman has to 
draw his hand back to bring it to bear upon the bit at A'. In 
so doing he draws back the coupling-rein CM and pulls the 
head of the near horse to the inside. To prevent this the 
coupling-rein CM must be let out on its draught-rein exactly 
as much as the other coupling-rein has been taken up, which 
is equivalent to pulling back the draught-rein, whereupon the 
coupling-reins will have the positions shown by the dotted 
lines with the buckle of C rein in the first hole, and all the 
reins will act evenly upon both horses, notwithstanding that 
the mouth and bit of the off horse is nearer to the coachman's 
hand than that of the near horse." — Fairman Rogers, "A 
Manual of Coaching." 

The most common fault in adjusting coupling- 
reins, next to that of having one horse in ad- 
vance of the other, is that of having the horses 
coupled too closely, or too loosely, together; 
in the first case the horses must go awkwardly, 
with their heads too close together, with a ten- 
dency to make them stumble, and in the other, 
with their heads yawing apart, and not under 
proper control. Some horses are greatly irritated 
by being made to go on one side of the bit only, 
and often enough a pair going all sorts of ways 
will settle down and go well enough where their 
coupling-reins are so adjusted that they can go 
level, with an equal pressure of the bit on both 
sides of the mouth. 



Driving a Pair 345 

The matter of bearing-reins has been discussed 
already, but it is worth repeating over and over 
again, especially in the case of pair-horse driving, 
that bearing-reins should never be omitted. The 
pole-end, or his mate's bridle, offer various oppor- 
tunities to a nervous horse who throws his head 
about to catch his bit or some part of his bridle, 
and tear it off or break it; and a bitless and 
bridleless horse is an equine anarchist, beyond 
human power of judging or controlling. Where 
you have whiffletrees in front of you, it is easy to 
see which horse is doing too much or too little 
work ; but when in heavy harness, with traces 
fixed to roller-bolts, the traces and reins must tell 
the story. The object in this form of driving is, 
of course, to make both horses do an equal amount 
of work, uphill and down, and to keep them going 
at an even pace. 

In determining which horse to put on the near 
side and which on the off side, several things 
should be taken into consideration. First, in this 
country we turn to the right, and as most roads 
are made with a crown in the centre rather than 
absolutely level, the off horse or horse on the 
right-hand side has a little more work to do, in 
that he must do most of the pulling, when the 
carriage turns off to the right, and must then be 
pulled back again. Therefore the bigger or 
stronger horse of the two may go on that side. 



346 Driving 

Second, if one of the horses is more nervous or 
more incHned to shy than the other, he is better 
off on the off side, where he is less in contact with 
passing horses, vehicles, automobiles, and the like. 
So far as the matter of punishment with the whip 
is concerned, in pair-horse driving it is as easy to 
get at one as the other, though some people pre- 
fer to have the less amenable animal of the pair 
on the off side and under their hand. It is much 
better for the horses, if other things are equal, to 
change them about, so that they go one day on 
one side and another day on the other. Horses, 
particularly in the city, where the tendency is to 
pole them up tightly, — too tightly, — so that they 
may be easily handled in the crowded streets, are 
apt to get into bad habits if driven always on the 
same side. They get one-sided mouths, hit them- 
selves, but apparently brighten up, as though re- 
freshed, when changed about. 

It is generally accepted as an axiom, that horses 
should be as close to their work as possible. As 
a matter of fact, this makes little difference to the 
draught of the vehicle ; but it does undoubtedly 
make a very great difference in backing, starting, 
turning, and the general management of the horses 
by the coachman, and on that account it is well 
to have your horses as close to the vehicle, and 
to your hand, as possible. 

Before going into details as to the handling of 



Driving a Pair 347 

the reins, one very important error should be 
noticed at the start. Driving is not knowledge of 
how to hold the reins, how to give the " offices " 
to make "points," etc., but real driving is the 
knowledge and practical experience of all those 
things which come before you get up on to your 
vehicle at all. The writer was seated beside the 
driver of an omnibus in London some ten years 
ago, at a time when everything pertaining to the 
handling of horses in harness was a keen interest. 
The heavy buss with its load of passengers was 
stopped and started and guided through the heavy 
traffic of Piccadilly without fuss or trouble and 
without jar to the passengers. When I compli- 
mented the Jehu on his w^ork, he replied, " Well, 
you see, sir, there's plenty of drivers about, but 
there's not many of us coachmen left ! " That is 
the gist of the matter. A coachman is one who, 
through knowledge, and experience, and natural 
ability, keeps his horses, passengers, and himself 
comfortable and safe while doing the best attain- 
able work with least effort to all concerned. The 
driver is a mere steerer of horses by artificial 
shortening and lengthening of reins that he has 
been taught. 

It would be a trifling task to write a book 
on driving for those who only wish to become 
drivers; but it is no small matter even to hint 
at the variety of knowledge necessary to one who 



348 Driving 

wishes to become even a moderately good coach- 
man. Now that we have arrived at this subject 
of the handhng and fingering of the reins, it must 
not be overlooked that this is literally the super- 
ficial part of the business, and if it is built upon a 
foundation of complete ignorance of the horse, his 
house, his harness, his history, and his physical 
make-up, it will always remain superficial and 
unsatisfactory. On the other hand, once these 
fundamental matters have been studied and 
understood, the handling of the reins becomes 
all-important to the coachman. First of all, spare 
no pains to get your reins in your left hand at 
the proper length, and once there they should be 
kept there. All the nicety of driving depends 
upon this. If the reins must be lengthened and 
shortened every few minutes, none of the direc- 
tions to follow can be of much use. Such give 
and take as there must be between hand and bits 
should come wholly from the gentle give and 
take of the wrist. When the reins are to be 
shortened for going down hill, and lengthened 
again going up, the two methods for this 
operation have been described in the chapter 
on driving one horse. With a nicely bitted 
pair, the turn to the left and the turn to the 
right may be made by turning the hand as 
directed in the same chapter. Where more 
power is required, the turn to the left may be 





First position of reins 



Double point to left 





Point to the right, off-lead rein 
under forefinger 



Point to the left, near-lead rein 
under thumb 



PLATE XXX. —DRIVING A PAIR 



Driving a Pair 349 

made by looping or making " points " to left or 
right as may be required. The point to the left 
is made by taking the upper or near rein with the 
thumb and index finger or with the little and 
fourth fingers of the right hand, pulling it back a 
few inches, according to the angle of the turn, 
and placing the bight of the rein under the 
thumb (see Plate XXX.). Close the thumb down 
on the reins and hold it there until your horses 
have fully responded, then lift the thumb and this 
near rein slips back into place of itself. Be care- 
ful to keep your point under the thumb until the 
turn is made, otherwise — and a common fault — 
the slackening of this rein will land you in the 
middle of the turn with the horses going exactly 
the other way. By thus looping your rein the 
left hand is kept steadily in its place, and the right 
hand is entirely free to be used in case the 
other horse is too quick or too sluggish. If the 
off horse is inclined to go round too fast and 
shove his mate over, the right hand is there to 
put on his rein and restrain him. If, on the other 
hand, he is too sluggish, and does not obey 
quickly enough, your right hand is there to 
touch him up with the whip and make him do 
what is required of him. In turning to the right, 
the under rein or off rein may be looped in the 
same way, but this time under the index finger, 
rather than the thumb, though the thumb may 



350 Driving 

be used, and the turn made to the right in the 
same fashion and with the same methods as 
before. Although the making of points and op- 
position and so on are usually for four and 
tandem driving, it is much neater and quieter to 
use these methods on a much smaller scale for 
your pair. It is quieter and less conspicuous 
than pulling the reins and gets one in, and keeps 
one in, the valuable habit of fingering the reins 
accurately, quietly, and mechanically, leaving the 
eyes and attention for other and more important 
matters. 

Whenever a loop is taken or any other indica- 
tion attempted of what you want your horses to 
do, avoid confusion by giving a variety of signals 
at one and the same time. For example, in tak- 
ing a loop, if you allow your left hand to slide for- 
ward to receive it under the thumb instead of 
letting the right hand bring it back, you slacken 
your reins and your horses start forward just when 
they should be well in hand. If a horse feels this 
tightening of the rein from the point you are 
making and then feels the pressure lessen, he will 
whip back again ; hence the necessity for holding 
your point until the horses have responded fully. 
It is much better to hold a point too long than to 
let it go before its work is done. In pulling reins 
toward you, do not draw the rein to one side, 
thus drawing the hands apart, but pull directly 



Driving a Pair 351 

toward the body — straight back, in short. Never 
let your right hand get so far away from the left 
that it cannot be used instantly when wanted. If 
you are a beginner, get a steady pair and keep at 
this fingering of the reins; the starting, with 
pressure of the right hand in front of the left just 
enough to feel their mouths ; the stopping, with 
right hand properly grasping the reins ; the points 
to the left and the right, and the shortening of the 
reins, until these matters are done quickly and 
automatically without the necessity of looking at 
your hands at all. And though this be a treatise 
on driving, let us be frank and say that a good 
teacher is better than any book. Sit beside a 
good coachman as often as you can and watch 
him like a lynx. Get a good coachman to sit 
beside you and tell you and explain to you ; then 
go back to your book again, and you will get much 
more out of it than before. A brilliant French- 
man has said that he studied books while he 
was waiting to study men. The book-learning is 
far more valuable when supplemented by practice. 
On the other hand, it is only the very ignorant in 
these days who do not make what use they can 
of other men's experience and practice, by study- 
ing up in books any subject in which they are 
interested. 

To read a good book on driving helps your 
teacher even more than it helps you, in that 



352 Driving 

you have at least some inkling of the elemen- 
tary principles of what he is to teach you. 
Even with one horse these manoeuvres may be 
gone through with, and every turn, and start, and 
stop, made with the same nicety and care, as 
though one were driving his drag at a meet of the 
coaching-club. 

Mr. Underbill's sumptuous book is entitled 
" Driving for Pleasure." There is an amusing 
chapter to be written on Driving for Punishment, 
with illustrations from life, if one cared to write 
it. The distortions of face, hands, and body, 
through trying to do simple things in an awkward 
and roundabout way; the mixing up of whip, 
hands, and reins, through not having toiled suf- 
ficiently over the elementary stages of the art of 
driving ; the brake on or off when it should not 
be, and a complete loss of head, the horses any 
way, and their owner in roseate confusion, are 
phases of the driving for punishment one often 
sees. And be it said, driving is a punishment in- 
deed, when bad bitting, ill-fitting harness, horses 
badly put to, and awkward handling of reins, 
whip, and brake, are of one and the same 
combination. 



CHAPTER XIV 

DRIVING FOUR 

About the year 1840, with the advent of rail- 
ways in England, coaching, for a time at least, 
practically came to an end. Before that time, all 
transportation of passengers, mail, and small 
merchandise was by coach. The mail-coaches 
were under government control, and as represent- 
ing the Sovereign, had rights and privileges, and 
were entitled to respect. Many of the present- 
day usages are reminders of that time, and relics 
of ancient customs. That other vehicles should 
give way to the mail-coach, that the constables 
should salute as it passed, that other coachmen 
should recognize it by saluting, can be readily ap- 
preciated. In England to-day, the coaches run- 
ning out of London with their loads of passengers, 
bent on a day's pleasant outing merely, are treated 
much in the same way. All but surly drivers 
make way for them, the police salute, many of the 
other coachmen salute, and the forms of what 
were once realities still obtain. 

Both there and here many people forget, that 
these coaches must take out a license, and are 
2 A 353 



354 Driving 

bound by the laws governing other vehicles 
employed for the transportation of passengers. 
The coach put on each season by the Coaching- 
club of New York, and which has run latterly 
from the Holland House to Ardsley on the Hud- 
son and return, although it may be done primarily 
for sport, is none the less governed by the terms 
of its license. Hence it is that a good sportsman, 
in undertaking such a duty, goes rain or shine, 
makes a point of being on time, insists upon 
promptness, not as a fad of his own, but because 
these are the implied articles of agreement be- 
tween him and the city when he takes out his 
license. Like all other good sport, there is an ele- 
ment of hard work and tyranny in it. The coach- 
man must at all times obey the laws of the sport. 

To buy, train, and drive the horses, and carry 
out a successful schedule for six weeks or so, with 
the innumerable details involved, is a task requir- 
ing knowledge, experience, tact, and patience. 
The man who can do this may be said to have 
passed his postgraduate examination as a first- 
class coachman. 

There are not many men who can do that, but 
there is plenty of sport to be had in driving four 
horses, this side of that supreme ability. Men who 
lack the time, money, knowledge, and experience 
to put a coach on the road may still, with benefit 
to themselves, and to the inmates of their stables. 



Driving Four 355 

drive four horses. Although there was coaching 
in a sense in this country, from Revolutionary 
times and before (see Chapter III.), the first regular 
English coach sent to this country to be used for 
pleasure driving was imported in i860 by Mr. 
Lawrence of Boston. The first public coach was 
put on the road in 1876 by Colonel Delancey 
Kane, and ran from the Brunswick Hotel, New 
York, to Pelham. 

Monotony probably destroys more people than 
any one form of dissipation. Humanity wearies 
of the round of duties day after day, and attempts 
by drink, or dissipation, or by running away from 
duty, to break in upon it or to break away from 
it. It takes the very highest qualities to stick it 
out, whatever may be the duty. Plato maintained 
that change is rest. Many men work all the 
time ; their only rest is change of work. He is a 
diplomat in life who remembers this dangerous 
quality of monotony, and in his own life, and the 
life about him, seeks to diversify it. 

This principle can be applied to the subject of 
driving as well, if not better, than to most others. 
To drive one horse, over one road, day in and day 
out, becomes a weariness to the flesh, instead of a 
refreshment. If you have only one horse, you 
can at least both ride him and drive him. If you 
have two, you can drive them abreast as a pair, or 
one in front of the other as a tandem, and both 



356 Driving 

can be ridden. As soon as your stable enlarges 
to four, you can have no end of variety if care 
and patience are exercised. Strange to say, too, 
the horses join in the fun. A horse likes a new 
road and enjoys going in a new way. It will take 
time and trouble to teach your horses to go tan- 
dem, and in a four; but once they are taught, they 
enjoy it quite as much as you do. Of course we 
are writing now of those who wish to get practice 
and pleasure out of their stables, not merely for 
those who use their horses for purposes of trans- 
portation only. Do not start out with the notion 
that the only way to drive a tandem, or a four, is to 
have exactly the proper vehicle, the right harness 
to the shape of a buckle, and horses of just such 
and such a character. The show ring is one thing ; 
driving for sport and pleasure is quite another. 

Practically any man who will spend enough 
money can win prizes in the show ring ; and it is 
only occasionally nowadays, when so much money 
is spent for show-ring horses and equipages, that a 
man of moderate means can hope to win in these 
tournaments. He may by good judgment, in 
buying and training, bring out a winner now and 
then; but he has little chance against those who are 
willing to pay any price for a ready-made winner. 

It is a good thing to know how horses and 
vehicle should be turned out, even down to minute 
details; but a book, a coach-builder, a harness- 



Driving Four 357 

maker and a bank-account never yet made a 
sportsman, at this, or any other game. As has 
been said before in another chapter, " form " is 
only rational when it is the proper clothing of an 
idea; it is ridiculous and unworthy when it is 
merely an idea of proper clothing. 

Of tandem driving we have written in another 
chapter. If you cannot have a four, costing, with 
coach, horses, and harness, ^15,000 or more, why 
not have just as much sport, and far more valu- 
able experience, by a more economical arrange- 
ment ? Buy your horses with a purpose, to begin 
with. Let the saddle-horses serve as leaders, the 
blockier, heavier harness horses in the wheel. Or 
if you run to smaller sizes, two of 15.1 in the wheel 
and your polo ponies 14.2 in the lead, with a 
pony break behind them, make a capital four. 
If a second-hand harness is not procurable, terrets 
on your wheelers' saddles and bridles make any 
stout double harness serviceable ; and an extra pair 
of long reins and long traces fit out your leaders, 
and there you are. Any man who can afford to 
keep four horses can, if he will give the problem 
time and trouble, have the practice of driving four. 

Be it said at once that the best practice is that 
of driving different teams every day, and that can 
only be obtained where there is a good deal of 
road coaching, and you are of an ability to be 
permitted to drive. Next to that, probably, comes 



35 S Driving 

the experience and knowledge to be derived from 
getting together, harnessing, bitting, and getting 
to go, a four out of your own stable. Most books 
and most teachers deal with the subject of driving 
four as though appearances counted ninety-seven 
per cent, and your own pleasure and profit three 
per cent. 

We are dealing with four-in-hand driving here 
as a pastime, as an opportunity for variety in 
your own driving, and as a refreshing change in 
their way of going for your horses. Remember 
always that it is not hard on, but good for, your 
horses to give them variety of work. Horses 
that are well housed, carefully fed and watered, 
comfortably harnessed, and discreetly driven are 
much better for change of scene and change of 
work. This is not intended to mean that a light, 
high-strung lady's saddle-horse is improved by 
being put to work in the wheel of a break; or 
that, of any horse, too much work or the kind of 
work to which he is palpably unsuited should be 
required of him. What is maintained here is 
that very few owners of horses get all the fun 
out of them that there is to be had. 

These questions of pole-chains or leather pole- 
pieces, this or that shape of bit, — so long as the 
bit fits the inside of the horse's mouth, — housings 
or no housings, stable-clothes or breeches and 
boots, are all matters that come after, not before, 



Driving Four 359 

driving. The ^tudy of appearances comes after 
the knowledge of essentials, not before. Appear- 
ances as the result of knowledge take care of 
themselves ; but the mere study of appearances 
teaches nothing. When you have learned to 
harness and put to your horses, start, stop, turn 
them, and keep them going evenly, at a proper 
pace ; and when your thong is as easily handled 
as a walking-stick, then will be time enough to 
investigate matters of buttons, hat brims, curve of 
bit-shanks, whiphandles, cut of greatcoats, and 
methods of saluting with the whip. 

A certain amount of strength is the first 
requisite in driving four horses. It is calculated 
that the weight on the hand of the four reins, 
averages from six to ten pounds for a light, well- 
bitted team, less perhaps for a perfect team, and 
running up as high as twenty-five, to even more, 
pounds in holding a team going down hill. The 
waiter remembers the painful numbness of the left 
forearm when he first drove four, years ago. It 
is well to invigorate the arms, and to begin 
a very little at a time at this exercise, or an 
overdose at a first lesson may put the forearm 
out of commission for some days. Pulleys, 
dumb-bells, Indian clubs, or carrying a loaded 
walking-stick will muscle up the arm and put it 
in condition. 

The use of the four-in-hand whip is so all- 



36o Driving 

important that it should not be left to the last, 
but practised persistently from the start. Many 
teams, bitted and trained by professionals and 
only driven in the park by their owners, re- 
quire almost no use of the thong; and as a result 
many drivers of four horses can hardly put up 
a thong, let alone use it with any success. 

Place the point of the thong under the fingers, 
grasping the stick, not at the end, but at the point 
where the ferrule encircles it (Plate XXXI.). 
Swing the point of the stick from left to right 
with a slight downward movement, then make a 
quick half circle from left to right and upward, and 
your thong will curl around your stick three or 
four times and hold there. The lower part of the 
thong will curl around the handle the opposite way. 
Between the upper and lower coil will hang a bight 
of the thong (Plate XXXI.). Move your stick over 
to the left or driving hand, pull out the lower coil 
with the thumb and forefinger of that hand, and 
place the point of your thong again under your 
right hand, the thong now going around the stick 
in the same direction all the way down so that 
it is easily unwound when wanted (Plate XXXI.). 
The point of the thong is more secure in your 
right hand if it is wrapped a couple of times 
around the handle, though there is high authority 
against this practice, on the ground that it is not 
so easy to unwind your thong when wanted. If 



Driving Four 361 

you are a beginner, you will find it safer to make 
the couple of turns around the handle. Mr. 
Bronson, who was one of the very best of our 
American whips, held, and with justice, that the 
point of the thong should not be wrapped around 
the stick, maintaining that just when the hands 
were needed it required two hands to undo it. 
The whip should be held pointing upward and 
to the left. When the thong hangs over the 
middle of the back of the near wheeler, your whip 
will be in about the right position. 

The way usually recommended for putting up 
the thong is to make a large S on the wall and 
follow this with the point of the whip, beginning 
at the bottom and moving across from left to 
right. To do this, start slowly from left to right, 
and let the upper curve be made with a turn of 
the wrist which will bring the fingers uppermost 
at the finish. 

It is exasperatingly easy, and exasperatingly 
difficult. Once you get the knack, it is like 
skating and swimming, you wonder how you were 
ever puzzled. If these directions are not clear, 
get some one to pound it into you by persistent 
instruction ; for, of all awkward things, none is 
more so than the confusion arising from a dan- 
gling thong, that cannot be made to go up, and 
stay up, where it belongs. Nothing but constant 
practice makes one comfortable with the whip. 



362 Driving 

If you are driving in the country, unwind and 
put up your thong constantly ; even take out 
your four-in-hand whip with one or two horses, 
and practise, practise, practise. Some day, in a 
crowded street or in the park, when a cut of the 
whip is imperatively necessary and a quick return 
of the thong to its place as necessary, you will not 
regret a moment of the time spent in this way. 
Do not trust to luck in this matter. What is 
usually called " luck " is, after all, the happy way 
ability and opportunity have of often meeting. 
Keep your thong pliable, otherwise it will not 
stay in its place and be difficult to put up. 

In using your whip, make as little fuss and 
noise as possible ; each horse should be hit so 
that the other three hear nothing and know 
nothing. Do not flick a horse, but hit and draw 
the thong at the same time, then it means some- 
thing. In putting up your thong, do not make 
a flourish with the arm. It is just as easy to put 
the thong up with the right elbow at the side. 

The wheelers should be hit in front of the 
pad, down the shoulder ; it is better to hit the off 
wheeler on the off shoulder if his mate is restive. 

If there is kicking, the best punishment is a 
cut over the ears. In hitting the off leader, 
swing the point of your stick out to the right; 
once the thong is unwound, make a turn, and 
bring the stick forward quickly, when the thong 



Driving Four 363 

will travel forward under the stick. Always aim 
to hit a leader under his traces, and when you 
hit him let him know that he has been hit. 
Always aim farther ahead than you mean to hit. 
You cannot go too far, and you may be short. 
To catch the thong again, take it back, away 
from your horses, and point the stick over your 
left arm, allowing the thong to fall first, or point 
your stick up, and let the thong slide down the 
inside of it to your hand. Pull the thong through 
with the finger and thumb of the left hand till 
the point is within a few inches of the right hand, 
then put up the thong as directed. 

To hit the near leader is a little more difficult, 
and a good reason, by the way, for putting the 
lazier leader on the off side. Untwist your thong- 
as before on the right side of you, swing the thong 
over all your horses so that it hangs on the left 
side of the coach, then with a turn of the stick 
shoot your thong as before, stopping the point of 
the stick at about the pad of the near wheeler, when 
the point of the thong will hit the near leader's 
hocks. In getting your thong back from this 
position, swing it from left to right over all your 
horses, and point the stick again over the left 
arm, when the thong will fall over the reins near 
the hand or, if well done, into the hand. Then 
proceed as before. The near wheeler may be 
hit on the quarters also, by throwing the lash 



364 Driving 

between the heads of the wheelers, though this 
is condemned by many as a bad practice. This 
needs practice, particularly in getting your thong 
back to your hand. 

Never attempt to use the whip while the right 
hand is on the reins or holding a rein. First, 
because you cannot use the whip with any effect, 
and second, because you are sure to jab one of 
your horses in the mouth by a jerk on the rein 
you happen to be handling. See that your thong 
is all clear before attempting to put it up. You 
will find that it has a disconcerting way of catching 
on the rein buckles, the handles of the foot-board, 
or even on the lamps. If in using your thong it 
catches in any part of the harness, treat it gently ; 
do not pull at it, which only makes it hold faster ; 
and if it will not come loose by these measures, 
send the servant down to loosen it. If your 
thong catches in boughs of trees or the like, do 
not hang on to the stick, but let the whole thing 
go and send back for it. 

In saluting, drop your whip into your left hand 
and take off your hat if it be a lady you would 
recognize. Few things are more parochial in 
these matters than to see a man making a con- 
spicuous sword salute with his whip to a lady 
who is either in another vehicle or on the road. 
In saluting others, a movement of the whip from 
left to right with the forearm is enough. It has 





Point to left with opposition, off -wheel 
rein over forefinger 



Pulling up to the left, near-wheel rein 
around thumb, near-lead rein under 
forefinger 





Point to right with opposition, near-wheel 
rein around root of thumb 



Stopping 



PLATE XXXII. — DRIVING FOUR 



Driving Four 365 

the merit of not taking the right hand far from 
the reins, and is less conspicuous than the use 
of the whip as a sword, by bringing the handle 
up to your chin. 

It is an old-time custom among the drivers of 
road-coaches in England to take off the hat to 
a chimney-sweep. Just why it is supposed to 
bring luck, like killing spiders in the morning 
and letting them live in the evening, and fifty 
other fancies of a like kind, the writer cannot 
explain. In approaching trouble, where you are 
likely to need your thong, unwind it and hold 
only the point under your thumb. A cut in time 
may save a whole side of harness ! 

Four horses with a heavy vehicle behind them — 
a drag weighs from twenty-one to twenty-four hun- 
dred pounds, a public coach from twenty-four hun- 
dred to three thousand pounds — and loaded with 
passengers occupies a good deal of space, gathers 
a good deal of momentum, and needs a good deal 
of skill in its governor. The very assumption 
of the task of driving is a great responsibility. 
No man should undertake it lightly. 

To know the whole game, and to do it su- 
premely well, requires many, many months of 
constant and studious practice. The easier it 
looks, the more capable is the man who makes 
it look easy to you. Do not for a moment be 
deceived into thinking that it is really easy. The 



366 Driving 

consequences of thinking so may contain, not only 
disasters of the most awkward kind, but death also. 

Begin at the very beginning, with the harness- 
ing and putting to of your horses. Depend only 
upon a good and trustworthy builder for your 
vehicle. If you buy a second-hand one, choose 
it with a friend who knows what such a vehicle 
should be, and then have it gone over thoroughly 
by your carriage builder. 

Of the harnessing of the horses we have already 
written. It needs to be added, that in harnessing 
four all the details of fit and stoutness of leather 
and proper bitting should be more than ever 
looked after. Before your horses are brought out 
have the pole in its place and the lead-bars hung 
on the pole-hook. Have a look yourself to see 
that the pole-pin is securely in its place. Bring 
out your wheelers, hook the pole-chains to the 
kidney-link ring, giving ample room to back them 
so that the traces may be put over the roller- 
bolts, — outside trace first, then the inside one, — 
then tighten the pole-chains by passing the hook 
through the kidney-link ring from the inside out 
so that it will come out away from the pole. The 
length of this chain must depend upon the good 
or bad roads you are proposing to drive over, and 
upon other things already discussed (Chapter XIII.). 
When your horses are poled up, they are drawn 
toward the pole, and you will notice that the inside 



Driving Four 367 

trace is therefore shorter than the outside trace. 
This difference should be taken up by enlarging 
the inside roller-bolt by wrapping it, never by 
punching holes in the trace, and thus weakening 
it. Then fasten the coupling-reins to their bits, 
and fasten your reins over your off wheeler's pad- 
terret, or let them be drawn through above the 
trace and tug-buckle from the front, back. 

Then bring out your leaders and fasten their 
traces to their bars. The leaders may be put to 
with their traces on their own bars ; with the traces 
crossed on the inside, each horse working off his 
mate's bar ; with the traces crossed, but each horse 
working off his own bar. The first is best for well- 
trained, evenly working horses. The second is 
advocated by those who consider that this method 
makes the work more even, and keeps the lazy 
horse up to his work. The third is mainly to keep 
the leaders more together. The bars of the leaders 
may be fastened together with a strap for the same 
reason. Never use a chain for this purpose as, in 
case of a leg over the trace or any similar acci- 
dent, a chain cannot be cut and promptly undone. 

This lapping of the traces is a matter each man 
should work out for himself, after noticing how 
his particular leaders go most comfortably. This 
lapping of the traces also keeps the traces away 
from the horses' sides, and in hot or muddy 
weather this is a consideration. 



368 Driving 

Buckle your coupling-reins to the bits, run them 
through their terrets, and, together with the wheel- 
reins, push them through from in front above the 
trace and tug-buckle of the off leader. 

Put up your thong, lay the whip over the 
wheelers' backs, and as a precaution push the end 
of it between the back-strap. If your whip is in 
the socket, it is in your way in getting up, it may 
be broken by your passengers, or it may be played 
with by an ignorant passenger and dropped, or at 
any rate, the thong loosened. If the whip is 
placed across the toe-board no one can mount to 
the box-seat while it is there. If you are driving 
alone and studying your team, the whip is better 
on the toe-board, where it is not easily displaced 
and does not annoy the wheelers; otherwise the 
best place is across the backs of the wheelers. A 
piece of steel covered with leather on the lead- 
reins (Fownes of London used ivory) just in front 
of the coupling-buckle prevents these slipping 
through the lead-terrets, as may easily happen if 
either horse plunges or hangs back. 

If no bearing-reins are used, the throat-latches 
should be snug, since they alone hold the bridle 
on the horse's head. In breaking in a team, 
bearing-reins properly adjusted do no harm and 
are a safeguard. If necessary, start with them 
very loose and shorten them when the horse is 
warmed up, and his neck muscles are more 



Driving Four 369 

pliable. If the bearing-reins are fastened up 
before the start, there will be backing, rearing, and 
jibbing, all of which may be obviated by tightening 
the bearing-reins after the start. 

If you are to drive over good level roads, your 
wheelers may be placed as near the coach as will 
enable them to go at a good gait without hitting 
the splinter-bar or wheels. The length of wheel- 
traces should be about ninety-seven inches, of the 
lead-traces about ninety inches. With smaller 
horses the traces are, of course, proportionately 
shorter. A long drawn out team is hard on the 
arm and hand, not so easily manoeuvred, and, 
being farther from their work and from you, not 
so likely to be easily handled. 

On Western roads in this country, the four 
horses are put much farther from the coach and 
from one another, and given plenty of leeway as 
to traces and pole-chains. Driving over their 
heavy, rough roads necessitates this. If one of 
our compactly harnessed teams attempted to work 
over their roads, the coach, passengers, and 
horses' shoulders would be badly racked. Indeed, 
it is to be doubted whether closely harnessed 
horses would not pull one another down. The 
experienced coachman from the East does not 
sneer at the long drawn out teams in the West ; 
nor does the Westerner sneer at the closely coupled 
teams of the East. Each is adapted to do its own 



370 Driving 

work. It is only the neophyte who sneers here 
or elsewhere, and a stupid neophyte at that ; for to 
sneer at ignorance is stupid, and to sneer at 
stupidity, ignorant. 

Now that you have your horses harnessed to 
your vehicle, have another look round, for at this 
business a quiet start is more than half the battle, 
and it is worth while to see to it that you may get 
away without at once stopping, to arrange some- 
thing about the harness that has been neglected. 

Now step back to the off wheeler's quarter, and 
with the right hand take hold of the leaders' 
reins and place them in the left hand where they 
belong, with the forefinger between them; then 
take the wheelers' reins, and place them in the 
left hand with the middle finger between them. 
You will then have : near leader's rein over fore- 
finger, off leader's rein under forefinger and on 
top of the near wheeler's rein ; the near wheeler's 
rein over the middle finger, and under the off 
leader's rein, and the off wheeler's rein under the 
middle finger. Then with your right hand pull 
out twelve to eighteen inches of both off reins ; 
see that the buckles of the wheel-reins and the 
stitchings of the lead-reins are at an even distance 
from the left hand, so that when you are seated 
on the box the reins will be level. It saves time, 
trouble, and embarrassment to be able to do this 
quickly and accurately. If you are beginning or 



Driving Four 371 

out of practice, it is well to get up and down with 
the reins until they are the proper length in your 
hand. 

Then put the reins in the right hand exactly 
as they were in the left (or one finger lower 
down, so that the forefinger is free to hold on 
in getting up; this is advised by some coach- 
men, but is not necessary), throw the ends of the 
reins over your right arm, take your whip in your 
right hand, and you are ready to mount. To do 
this, put your left foot on the hub of the wheel, 
right foot on the roller-bolt, left foot on the step, 
and right foot on the foot-board, using your 
left hand to hold on with and leaving the right 
hanging down. Sit down at once, for, having 
climbed so high, it would be humiliating to 
tumble off if a horse started. Then put the 
reins back in the left hand, where you should 
find them all of about the proper length (Plate 
XXXII.). If they are not, get them level without 
touching the mouths of the horses. In taking 
the reins from their place to put them in the 
hand, it is usual to drop the ends on the ground. 
If, however, you are on a muddy street or wet 
pavement, put the ends of the reins over the little 
finger of the right hand, which will keep them 
out of the mud and wet while you are arranging 
them in your hand to mount. 

Another way of taking up the reins is, instead 



372 Driving 

of drawing out the two off reins before mounting, 
to allow the two off reins to run through the 
fingers as you mount to the box, which has, to be 
sure, the advantage of keeping control of all four 
horses from the moment you take up the reins. 
It is rare that a man drives four without men at 
his horses' heads when he gets up, and for the 
beginner, at any rate, the first-mentioned method 
is the simpler of the two. 

Start quietly. Feel your horses' mouths 
gently as a reminder that something is coming, 
give the word, let them have sufficient rein, let 
the wheelers into their collars first, and go off 
quietly at a walk. If you are driving a green 
team, or a mean team, or a team you are making, 
always start from the stable yourself. Even if 
your coachman is a better coachman than you are, 
it is best to get away with them yourself, and to 
keep them amenable from the start. Although it 
is advised here to let the wheelers start the coach, 
the ideal way is to let all four horses feel their 
traces at the same moment ; but it is only under 
ideal circumstances and with an ideal team that 
all four horses will dip into their collars at the 
same instant, and walk off with the coach, with- 
out so much as a flurry or a shake of the head at 
starting. Such horses are too good to be true, 
and need very little driving. 

Let the rugs or quarter-blankets be taken off 



Driving Four 373 

quietly, not grabbed off as a sort of " get-up " 
signal, and if your horses are at all inclined to 
waver, let the grooms run ahead a few steps so 
that the horses can see them and be tempted to 
go on with them, and then, the team fairly started, 
they can drop back and take their places on the 
coach. Let them have their heads at the start 
and get them in hand after they are all in the 
traces. By checking a horse suddenly at the 
start, with a too tight rein, or jabbing a leader 
under the tail with the pole, or, worst of all, 
forgetting to take the brake off and jerking the 
whole team back on their haunches at the start, 
you may, you will indeed, so irritate your horses 
that it will take your gentlest and most skilful 
behavior to get them right and going pleasantly. 

The writer knows one mare at least who be- 
haves perfectly if everything goes smoothly at the 
start, but if she is upset at the start, the whole 
drive is spoilt by her behavior ; nor is she ap- 
peased till safely back in the stable. So, by all 
means, use every endeavor, every artifice even, to 
get a good start. 

As was duly emphasized in Chapter XIII., by 
far the greater part of the comfort and skill in 
driving depends upon the give and take of the 
left hand from the wrist, or with a slight move- 
ment forward or backward of the hand itself. 
Turning the left hand up or down with a move- 



374 Driving 

ment to the right or left will, if your horses are 
well in hand, guide them to the right or left. In 
starting, you are usually on one side or the other 
of the road. To bring your horses over, two small 
points to the left with the near lead-rein under the 
thumb, the near wheel-rein under the forefinger; 
or if to the right, the off lead-rein under the fore- 
finger and the off wheel-rein under the middle fin- 
ger will give the direction, and, once they are where 
you want them, the reins slip out, and you have had 
the right hand free to be used if necessary. Or, 
turning the left hand down with the knuckles toward 
the horses, bringing the hand at the same time back 
to the left hip, will take them to the right ; while 
turning the left over, the knuckles toward you, 
and the hand moved toward the body, will turn 
them to the left. This movement of the left hand 
up or down shortens or lengthens the near lead-rein. 
There is an objection to moving the left hand 
about much, and turns to the left and right are 
best made by " points " or " loops." Before turn- 
ing anywhere, always have your leaders well in 
hand. If they have hold of the pole-end, the 
wheelers are helpless to turn the coach. To turn 
to the left, take the near lead-rein with the three 
lower fingers of the right hand and draw it back, 
catching it under the left thumb, holding it fast till 
your team has responded (see Plate XXXII.). To 
turn to the right, do the same thing with your off 



Driving Four 375 

lead-rein, holding it either under the thumb or 
under the forefinger of the left hand (see Plate 
XXXIL). Under the forefinger is better, since the 
rein is then in its proper place to run out, just as 
in the former case under the thumb is better for the 
same reason. Never pull a rein off to the side, but 
always straight back toward you, so that the hands 
may never get too far away from one another. 
Do not spoil your point by letting the left hand go 
forward to meet it, but bring the point back with 
the right hand, keeping the left hand in its place. 
As soon as horses go much together as four, 
they get to know the signals of the reins and 
sometimes respond too quickly. This is espe- 
cially so of the wheel horses. As soon as they 
feel the lead-rein moving in their head terret, they 
begin to turn toward it. In going round corners 
this results in the wheelers going round too 
quickly, and perhaps running the coach on the 
curb or against a post or pillar. An easy way to 
avoid this is by making an " opposition point " so 
called. Before giving the office to your near 
leader, and making the point with your near lead- 
rein to turn to the left, take up the off-wheel rein 
and hold it over the forefinger of the left hand 
(Plate XXXIL), then make your point, and with 
one hand your leader is going round to the left, 
your wheelers are kept away from the corner, and 
you have your right hand to use on the reins, or 
with the whip to urge the wheelers round. 



37^ Driving 

In turning to the right, the same thing may 
be done by taking the near wheeler's rein and 
passing it over the thumb of the left hand, then 
point to the right (Plate XXXI L), and again you 
have your whole team in one hand and doing your 
bidding. In turning a team off to the left, in 
order to pass another vehicle, or in any case 
where the turn is a slight one and to be made 
quickly, put the right hand on the two near reins 
with the middle finger between them, and as you 
draw them toward you let the left hand advance. 
Place the right hand on the two off reins with 
the fourth finger between them, and repeat the 
same manoeuvre to go to the right. Put the right 
hand well in advance of the left in doing this, 
and pull directly toward you, otherwise you will 
pull the reins out of the left hand and spoil the 
whole movement by contradictory instructions to 
the horses' mouths. In pulling up to the left, you 
may place both near-reins well over the thumb, 
and then use the right hand as usual in stopping ; 
this will bring your team over, and stop them at 
the same time (Plate XXXII.). 

It is obvious that all these " oppositions " may 
be made by using the right hand on the reins. 
In most road driving this is done. There are 
from time to time turns to be made round sharp 
corners, into gateways, through narrow streets, 
coming down hill, or with a dip down hill im- 



Driving Four 2>77 

mediately after turning a corner, when the right 
hand is imperatively needed. It is at such times 
that to know how to make these " points " and 
their " opposition " is very useful. The best way, 
therefore, is in times of peace to prepare for war 
by using these " points " and " oppositions " fre- 
quently where they can be made easily and without 
looking at the hands ; then when you really need 
them you know how without fumbling and flurry- 
ing to do what is necessary. 

When you wish to shorten your lead-reins, 
take them clean out of the left hand, bring them 
back the required length, and replace them. It 
is better and safer, however, so far as possible, to 
push these, and other reins when possible, back 
from behind. To shorten the wheel-reins, push 
them back one at a time — an awkward way — or 
pull them both through from behind. The near 
w^heel-rein, being the most awkward rein to get 
at, should be shortened by pulling it from behind. 
To shorten any other of the three separately, take 
it in the lower fingers of the right hand and push 
it back the required distance. To shorten all the 
reins, put the right hand on all four reins, little 
and fourth fingers over both off reins, middle finger 
between, and forefinger and thumb over the near 
reins, and push them back a little at a time. As 
has been said before, if in a hurry pull all four 
reins back from behind. 



378 Driving 

As the two reins together, the off-lead and 
near-wheel, are the most troublesome to the 
beginner, it is well to remember that if your 
leaders are straggling to the left and your wheel- 
ers to the right, pushing these two centre reins 
back a little will put things straight. For the 
opposite trouble, pulling them forward a little 
will solve the problem. The leaders of a team 
are there to help over heavy roads and in going up 
hill ; but as they have no pole to support them, 
their position is the more tiring one, and they 
should be cared for accordingly and not allowed 
to pull all the time. In crossing gutters or hollow 
places, be particularly careful to have your leaders 
in hand, otherwise if they are straining on the pole, 
the lift and jerk may break it. This is not an 
uncommon accident, and a very awkward one. 

Remember that because you are driving four 
horses you have no peculiar rights and privileges 
over other American citizens, though they be 
driving only one horse or a donkey. The cour- 
tesy of the road will usually give the heavy load 
a chance, but you can only ask, you may not 
demand it. On a public coach, making time and 
carrying passengers for fare, the horn is both a 
safeguard and a proper signal ; but the tooting of 
a horn on all occasions in park, village, and ordi- 
nary road driving is almost an impertinence. 
Cessante ratione^ cessat et ipsa lex. If you must 



Driving Four 379 

have a horn for protection, drive up and down 
your own back road until that necessity is passed. 

In stopping, get ready in advance and slow 
down gradually. Get your leaders back a little, 
put your right hand on the reins as already de- 
scribed, lift the left hand, push the right toward 
you, and come to a stop with the horses as nearly 
as possible in their bits and collars ready to start 
again (Plate XXXII.). The man who can stop and 
start without a jerk is a good workman already. 

Before getting down, put on your brake, always 
quietly, then shift the reins into the right hand 
with the whip, step down, put the reins into the 
tug-bearer as they were when you took them out, 
lay your whip across the backs of the horses, and 
your task is done. 

If there is to be a change of horses, or you are 
in your own stable yard at the end of the journey, 
have your reins unbuckled, let the leaders' reins 
be pulled through your hands by the grooms, then 
throw down the wheel-reins, one on either side, or, 
as circumstances of space demand, retain the wheel- 
reins, and drive your coach where it is to stand 
by the wheelers alone, after the leaders are out. 
Above all things, do nothing in a hurry; remember 
that you are captain of the ship and should not 
leave it until everything is shipshape and in order. 

Where you have but one man at your service, 
he should stand at the heads of the wheelers 



380 Driving 

where he can hold them by their heads and the 
leaders by their reins. Never attempt to hold 
or to stop a team by running to the heads of the 
leaders. They cannot stop if they would, with 
a coach and the two wheelers pushing them from 
behind. Get to the heads of the wheelers and 
stop them, and thus, if it is not too late to do it 
at all, stop the whole four. 

Keeping four horses up to their work, or well 
in hand, does not mean that they should be all, 
all the time, tugging at their traces. They should 
be kept up to their bits all the time, otherwise 
you have no control over them and no way of 
signifying your wishes to them. If you have 
fenced, you know how absolutely essential it is 
to keep in constant touch with your opponent's 
sword. You feel him by feeling his sword. I 
have seen a skilful French officer fence blind- 
folded with an inferior opponent, he demanding 
only that he should be allowed to feel his op- 
ponent's weapon at all times, except when he 
thrust, or parried. He could apparently divine 
what was coming by the feel of his opponent's 
rapier on his own. The feel of the bit in the 
horse's mouth is as important. You can guess 
what the horse intends to do, and the horse 
knows what you wish him to do. If the bit is 
not on his bars with a gentle pressure all the 
time you are driving him, you are cut off from 



Driving Four 381 

any quick connection with him. This is what 
it means to have your team in hand, that is, to 
be in constant communication with your horses' 
mouths. Most beginners, owing to the weight 
of reins in their hands, and because their leaders 
are so far away, either lug on the reins, mistaking 
this for firmness, or they allow the reins to dan- 
gle. You should feel each horse's mouth lightly, 
but all the time. The lugging soon makes a 
puller ; while the latter carelessness produces what 
is known as a " nigger-broke " horse, or one that 
is lazy and never quickly obedient to the bit. 

If you are getting together a team for your- 
self and by yourself, therefore, it is far better to 
drive each horse single until you know his mouth, 
and then in pairs until you are quite familiar 
with the way they like to go best as to bits, 
coupling-reins, and the like. There are two 
classes of people who have accidents : the begin- 
ners who are rash, and the old hands who are 
over-confident, and hence careless. When your 
driving has gone smoothly for some time you 
take less pains, a mistake is made, and trouble 
follows. But even if carelessness does not result 
actually in accident, remember that it is bad for 
the horses not to be kept strictly up to the mark 
whenever they are driven. The horses become 
slovenly in their work all too quickly, if you are 
careless in yours. 



382 The Drag 



RULES FOR JUDGING PARK DRAGS AND ROAD- 
COACHES, AS ADOPTED BY THE COACHING 
CLUB 

The drag should have a perch and be less heavy than a 
road-coach and more highly finished, with crest or monogram 
on the door panels or hind boot, or foot-board. 

The axles may be either mail or collinges (not imitation) . 

The hind seat should be supported by curved iron braces, 
and be of a proper width for two grooms, without lazy-back. 



The lazy-backs on the roof seats should be turned down 
when not in use. 

The under side of the foot-board, together with the rises, 
should be of the same color as the under-carriage. 



The body of the drag and the panel of the hind boot should 
correspond in color. 

The door of the hind boot should be hinged at the bottom, 
that it may be used as a table when open. 



The skid and safety-hook (if carried) should be hung on 
the off side. 



/ 



The Coach 383 



RULES FOR JUDGING PARK DRAGS AND ROAD- 
COACHES, AS ADOPTED BY THE COACHING 
CLUB 

The road-coach should be built stronger than a park 
drag, especially as to the under-carriage and axles, which 
latter should not measure less than two inches in diameter. 

The axles may be either mail or collinges (not imitation) . 

The hind seat is usually supported by solid wooden risers, 
with wooden curtain, but the supports may be of curved iron, 
as in a park drag, in which case a stationary leather curtain 
is used. Its seat should be wide enough for at least two be- 
side the guard, who should occupy the near side with an extra 
cushion. He should have a strap to take hold of when stand- 
ing to sound the horn. 

The lazy-backs of the box-seat, hind seat, and roof seats 
should be stationary. 

The under side of the foot-board, together with the risers of 
the box and rumble, should be of the same color as the under- 
carriage. 

The body of the coach and the panel of the hind boot 
should also correspond in color. 

The door on the hind boot to be hinged on the off side to 
enable the guard to open it from the near hind step when the 
coach is in motion. 

The skid and safety-hook must be hung on the off side in 
countries in which it is customary to drive on the off side of 
the roadway, for the skid should be on the outside wheel 
or the coach will slide towards the ditch. 



384 The Drag 

It is customary to trim the outside seats in either pigskin 
or cloth, and the inside of the drag in morocco or cloth. 



The coachman's driving apron, when not in use, should be 
folded on the driving cushion, outside out. Passengers' aprons, 
if carried, to be folded and placed on the front inside seat. 

A watch and case are not essential, nor is the pocket in the 
driving cushion. 

There should be no luggage rails, or straps on the roof 
between the seats. 



Inside, the drag should have : — 
Hat straps fastened to the roof. 
Pockets on the doors. 

Places over the front or back seats where the lamps may 
be hung when not in use. 
An extra jointed whip. 

The umbrella basket when carried to be hung on the near 
side. 



Lamps off. — Lamps inside coach. 

Two extra lead bars, consisting of a main and side bar, 
fastened to the back of the hind seat with straps. Main bar 
above. 

Lead bars put on with screw-heads of furniture up. 



The Coach 385 

The trimming of the outside seats should be of carpet or 
any other suitable material, not leather. The inside of the 
coach is usually finished in hard wood or leather. 

The coachman's driving apron, when not in use, should be 
folded on the driving cushion, outside out. 



A foot-board watch with case should be provided. The 
driving cushion should have a pocket on the near side. 

The iron rails on the roof, between the front and back 
seats, should have a lattice or network of leather straps to 
prevent small luggage, coats, rugs, etc., placed on the roof, 
from falling off. 

Inside, the coach should have : — 

Hat straps fastened to the roof. 

Leather pockets at the sides or on the doors. 

An extra jointed whip. 



The basket shall be hung on the near side and in front of 
the guard's seat. The horn should be placed in the basket 
with its mouthpiece up. 

Side lamps in place and ready for use. 

Two extra lead bars, consisting of a main and side bar, 
fastened to the back of the hind seat with straps. Main bar 
above. 

Lead bars put on with screw-heads of furniture up. 

2C 



386 The Drag 

The following articles to be neatly stowed inside the front 
boot : — 

A small kit of tools. 

An extra lead and wheel trace. 

A rein splicer or two double buckles of different sizes. 
Extra hame straps. 

Loin-cloths for team and the necessary waterproof aprons 
should be carried in a convenient and accessible part of the 
drag. 

It is usual for a park drag to be fitted with luncheon 
boxes, wine racks, etc., also a box on the roof called an 
" imperial." This latter is never carried except when going 
to the races or a luncheon. 

Pole-chains should be burnished and have spring-hooks. 
The chains should be of a length which will admit of snapping 
both hooks into the pole headring. If too short, one end 
should be hooked in the pole headring and the other in a link. 
If too long, one end should be snapped in the pole headring, 
and the other brought through said ring (from the outside in) 
and snapped in a link. 

Cruppers with buckles on all horses preferred. 



Loin straps and trace bearers are permissible. 

Face pieces (drops). 

Martingale around the collars of wheelers and not through 
kidney-link alone. 



The Coach 387 

The following articles to be neatly stowed in a convenient 
part of the coach : — 

A wheel jack. Extra hame straps. 

A chain trace. Extra lead trace. 

An extra bit. A bearing-rein. 

A rein splicer, or two double buckles of different sizes. A 
kit of tools, comprising a wrench, hammer, cold chisel, coil 
of wire, punch, hoof -pick, and knife. 

Two extra large rings for kidney-links, or a pair of pole 
pieces. 



The guard should be appropriately dressed and should 
have a way-bill pouch with a watch fitted on one side and a 
place provided for the key of the hind boot. 

Pole-chains should be burnished or black, but pole head 
and chains must be alike. Hooks should have india-rubber 
rings, not spring-hooks. 

Chains with single hooks should be put on pole-head from 
inside out, then passed through the kidney-link, and hooked 
into one of the links of the chains. 



Cruppers on wheelers but not necessarily on leaders, unless 
bearing-reins are used. Trace bearers on the leaders from 
the hames to the tug buckles are permissible. 

No loin straps. 

Face pieces (optional). 

Martingale around the collar and not through kidney-link 
alone. 



sS8 The Drag 

Martingales on all horses. 

Mountings of coach harness and the buttons on servants' 
liveries should be of the same metal. 

Wheel traces with metal loop ends, not chains. 



Wheelers' inside traces shorter than outside traces, unless 
the inside roller bolt is enlarged to give the same result. 

Lead traces straight or lapped, not crossed. 

Eyes on ends of hames through which the kidney-links 
pass. 

Plain kidney-links. 

No kidney-link rings on leaders. 

Solid draught eyes on hames. 

Clip inside of trace leather, and showing rivet heads only. 

Full bearing-reins with bit and bridoon. 
Buxton bits preferred. 

Single point strap to tug buckle. 

Metal or ribbon fronts to bridles. If ribbon, the color 
should match the livery waistcoats. 

The crest or monogram should be on the rosettes, face 
pieces, winkers, pads and martingale flaps. 
Ribbon or colored rosettes are inappropriate. 



The Coach 389 

No martingales on leaders ; kidney-link rings on leaders. 

Mountings, preferably of brass, but at least all of the same 
metal throughout. 

Wheel traces with French loop or chain ends. Chain put 
on roller bolt with chain out and ring in. 

Wheelers' inside traces shorter than outside traces, unless 
the inside roller bolt is enlarged to give the same result. 

Lead traces lapped, crossed, or straight. 

Hook ends to hames. 

Chain and short kidney-links or all chain. 

Ring draught eyes on hames. 

One or more bearing-reins are optional. 

Cruppers with or without buckles. 
Martingale back strap. 



Metal or leather fronts to bridles. If leather, the color to 
match the color of the coach. 

A crest or monogram is not generally used in road work, 
but instead lead bars or a special device in brass is put on 
the winkers and rosettes. 



390 The Drag 

Hame straps put on with points inside ; i.e. to the off side 
on the near horse and the near side on the off horse. 

Reins of single brown leather. 

Draught-reins sewed in one piece with end buckles only. 

Lead traces with screw-heads of the cock-eyes up. 



All parts of the harness should be double and neatly 
stitched. 

Collars to be of black patent leather, shaped to the neck. 



The hames bent to fit the collar accurately. 

Harness black. — All straps should be of proper length, 
but not too short. 

When the owner or his representative drives, the stable 
shutters should be down ; otherwise up. 



The Coach 391 

Hame straps put on with points inside ; i.e. to the off side 
on the near horse and the near side on the off horse. 

Reins of single brown leather. 

Draught-reins sewed in one piece with end buckles only. 

Traces with screw-heads of the cock-eyes and chain ends 
up. 

All straps preferably of single leather. 

Collars may be of patent, plain black, or brown leather ; 
straight, thick, and full padded. 

The hames straight to fit the collar. 

Harness black or brown. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE TANDEM 

One horse driven in front of the other gave a 
University wag the opportunity to nickname two 
horses so driven a " tandem," from the Latin word 
meaning " at length," as applied to time. This joke 
has crystallized into a familiar English word, and 
many tandem drivers to-day include all the Latin 
in their vocabulary in this form of exercise. 

The fundamental principles of tandem driving 
are much the same as four-in-hand driving, except 
that the horses turn more quickly, and with less 
pressure on the reins, especially in the case of the 
leader. The reins, too, are closer together in 
the hand, making the fingering more difficult, and 
the handling of a spirited leader is perhaps as 
difficult and nice a task as any form of driving 
affords. 

Although the chief authority for this chapter, 
T. Suffern Tailer, Esq., late the president of the 
New York Tandem Club, decries the use of any- 
thing but traces for the leader, — traces fastened to 
the traces of the wheeler, — it is fair to the reader 
to describe another method of harnessing. 



The Tandem 393 

This method consists of having two swingle- 
bars, one 2 feet 6 inches in length, the other about 2 
feet in length. The first has a hook in front and 
a chain at the back, about i foot in length. This 
chain is hooked to a ring at the bottom of the 
wheeler's hames, and at the end are two short 
traces fastening to the wheeler's traces by two 
rings, or loops, under the trace-buckles. The 
second bar is attached by an eyelet to the hook 
of the first bar; to this, of course, are attached the 
leader's traces in the usual manner. 

Advocates of this way of harnessing claim 
that by this method the leader's traces may be 
made almost as short as those of the wheeler, 
and that there is far less danger — none, indeed 
— ■ of a leader getting his legs over a trace. 

In tandem harness there should be as little 
harness as possible, even breeching omitted, 
except in a very hilly country. One of the advan- 
tages of this form of driving sport is that, even 
with a small stable and few horses, one may drive 
tandem without any great extra outlay. The 
w^heeler's harness may be an ordinary set of single 
harness, with double terrets in the pad, and terrets 
above the blinkers, to carry the leader's reins. 
The leader's harness may be the same, with a very 
light pad, since the pad in the leader's case only 
carries the traces. The traces of the leader have 
spring-hooks which are fastened to the brass rings, 



394 Driving 

or loops, under the wheeler's trace-buckles. On 
the leader's pad are two leather loops to carry the 
traces, and over the leader's loins, a bearing strap, 
just long enough to keep the traces level. The 
reins should be light, strong, and of the same size, 
and suited to the size of the coachman's hands. 
It is hardly necessary to say that to fasten the 
leader's traces to the ends of the shafts is suici- 
dally dangerous ; but as it is sometimes done the 
warning is needed. 

The writer's own experience in driving tandem 
has been confined mostly to a pony tandem, a form 
of amusement strongly recommended by Lady 
Gorgiana Curzon in the Badminton volume on 
Driving. 

Two ponies, a stocky, short-legged pony 14.2 
in the wheel, and a breedier specimen of the 
same height in the lead, make a pair that bowl 
along at a good rate, are light in hand, and 
give younger members of the family capital 
practice in the handling of four reins in one 
hand. If you have a Phidippides in the family, 
by all means put him to work at tandem driving. 
It is good for his courage, and may be good for 
his conceit (Plate XXXIII.). 

Every one who has driven tandem much, 
and almost every one who has not driven tan- 
dem at all, agree: the first that tandem driving 
is excellent sport, and not dangerous ; the latter 



i 




PLATE XXXIV. — TANDEM DOG-CART 




PLATE XXXV. — HIGH AND DANGEROUS COCKING-CART 



The Tandem 395 

that it is a foolish waste of equine energy, and 
very dangerous. 

All forms of driving are dangerous, from pilot- 
ing Dobbin in a farm-wagon, to driving a drag to 
a race meeting, if the coachman is ignorant, care- 
less, and nervous. Even Dobbin may go down 
on his knees, or shy, and run away, if he is not 
looked after. But tandem driving is no more 
dangerous than other forms of driving, if harness, 
cart, and horses are suited to the sport, and the 
coachman is forever vigilant. There is no doubt 
but that most horses enjoy going this way, and 
the change is good for them, and it is excellent 
practice ; none better, indeed, for their owner. 

In putting two horses together in this fashion 
the traces of the leader may be as short as pos- 
sible, say three feet from the nose of the wheeler 
to the croup of the leader, when the traces are 
taut. The leader, if a breedy-looking animal, 
with good neck and shoulders, may wear to ad- 
vantage a breast collar, instead of a neck collar. 
He may, indeed, be with propriety as lightly har- 
nessed as possible. 

The origin of the tandem was a convenient 
way of taking a hunter to cover by putting him 
in the lead of a dog-cart, with his saddle and 
bridle carried along in the cart. Even to this 
day this pedigree of the tandem marks out the 
proper proportions and proper qualities for both 



396 Driving 

wheeler and leader. The leader may thus be 
driven appropriately in a ring snaffle, although 
probably the best bits are the Liverpool or Elbow 
bits with the not-to-be-forgotten proviso that the 
wheeler's bit should have a bar across the bottom 
of it to prevent the wheeler catching the leader's 
rein under the end of the cheek-piece of his bit 
— a trick one of the writer's ponies soon learned, 
and was much mystified for days to find that the 
trick would not come off, after a bar had been 
added to the bottom of her bit. If the wheeler 
indulges in much shaking about of his head, he 
should have both a light bearing-rein and a mar- 
tingale. The leader ought to be the type of 
horse which needs neither of these fixtures. 

The whip may be lighter than the coach-whip, 
and 5 feet long for the stick, and 8 feet 6 inches for 
the lash, if you are driving ponies ; 2 feet longer 
in the lash if driving full-sized horses. 

Before attempting a tandem with any horses 
you happen to have in the stable, it is well to do 
a little training of the one you propose to use as 
leader. With a pair of long reins you should 
drive him with nothing behind him, so that he 
may become accustomed to moving along with 
no weight on his collar. Let the reins touch his 
quarters so that he may become accustomed to 
the loose traces in which he will go later. Some 
horses take to this way of going like ducks to 



The Tandem 397 

water, and make no objections and few mistakes 
from the beginning ; but it is best, in any case, to 
do a little training before they are put together 
in what must be a novel way to them. As the 
pressure should be less, and the loops taken 
smaller, in tandem driving, much of the turning 
may be done by the turn of the wrist and the 
moving of the hand from left to right, as described 
in the chapter on driving one horse. In turning, 
the points to right and left should be small, and 
care taken to keep your wheeler from rushing his 
corners, as he may so easily do with a two-wheeled 
trap behind him. If your leader is going off to 
the left too much and your wheeler to the right, 
push your two centre reins back a little, and this 
will straighten them out ; or if the contrary is the 
case, and your leader is going to the right and 
your wheeler to the left, pull the two centre reins 
out a bit. The two centre reins are, the upper 
one, your off lead-rein, the lower one, your near 
wheel-rein. 

It is more than ever necessary that the left 
hand should be kept in its place, and the reins 
held firmly in their place, otherwise your team 
will never be straight for long at a time. The 
left hand should be held as in driving four. 
When the right hand is used on all the reins, the 
little and third fingers go over the two off side 
reins, the middle finger over the near wheel-rein, 



39^ Driving 

and the first finger over the near lead-rein, thus 
giving the right hand control over each and all of 
the reins. The two off side reins may be kept 
together, for in tandem driving it is only neces- 
sary to make "points" when turning practically 
at right angles. The horses should follow one 
another without making a break between your 
leader and wheeler by having the leader at right 
angles to the wheeler when making a turn. Too 
large a loop taken with only one rein is very apt 
to bring your leader around too fast and too 
far. 

Never under any circumstances have your lead 
traces taut when making a turn, as you may thus 
pull your wheeler off his feet, and in any case, 
when the lead traces are taut, it is your leader, 
and not you, who is in control. Though driving 
tandem is similar in the manipulation of the reins 
to driving four, it is on a miniature scale. Every- 
thing must be done more gently, more quietly, 
more quickly, and all loops or points need only 
be of the smallest. The wheeler should start 
and stop the cart, and once they are going, the 
wheeler should follow directly behind the leader. 
The reins in a tandem come into the hand 
much closer together than in the case of a four, 
where the horses, being spread out, the reins are 
accordingly apart. This makes the handling of 
tandem reins quickly, difficult. When wishing to 



The Tandem 399 

use the right hand, if the left be pushed forward 
shghtly it gives the right hand a chance to place 
itself correctly on the reins, as the reins are 
thus pushed slightly apart. In tandem driving 
it is of supreme importance to be ready in ad- 
vance. Whether stopping, starting, turning, in- 
creasing, or slacking your pace, your right hand 
should not be fumbling to get itself on the right 
reins, but should be there, and ready, before it is 
required. A quick, nervous leader can turn, stop, 
start, and back like a flash. If you are not ready 
for him before he gets going, no mortal is quick 
enough to catch him afterwards. The damage 
is done, and your horses in a tangle while you are 
still groping with your right hand for the proper 
reins. In passing other vehicles, or any object 
that you think may cause your leader to shy, 
always have a small loop of that side rein under 
your thumb, and your right hand ready to put on 
the brakes on whichever rein requires it, instantly, 
before either horse can make much of a detour. A 
horse met at once with a rebuke is half persuaded 
already to come to terms. The cart, if ponies 
are driven, should not be too light nor too low. 
With wheels 4 feet 9 or 10 inches in diameter, 
the coachman's seat will be about 5 feet 4 from 
the ground. The wider the cart, up to 6 feet 
wide inside, the better, both for the comfort of 
the passengers, and because a broad track lessens 



400 Driving 

the danger of upsetting. The body of the cart 
should be set as low on the axles as possible. 

A cart with bent shafts pivoted on the front 
part of the cart, and adjustable behind, with 
wheels five feet high, and track five feet wide, 
will accommodate anything, from 14.2 to 16 
hands, and makes, if lightly built, a good all- 
round two-wheel cart for all sorts of purposes. 
A slant of from three to four inches for the driv- 
ing cushion makes a comfortable angle for the 
seat. If necessary, have a movable foot-rest, but 
on no account a rail for your feet. See, on this 
subject, remarks in the chapter on driving one 
horse. These descriptions and requirements do 
not purport to guide one in setting up a tandem 
for show purposes. This branch of the subject 
is dealt with completely, and with experienced 
competency, by Mr. Tailer in the next chapter. 
But tandem driving is too good a sport to be 
confined to the show ring. Any enterprising 
horse owner may put to a tandem out of his 
own stable without adding much to the expense 
of his stable, while adding greatly to the variety 
of sport to be got out of his establishment. 



CHAPTER XVI 

DRIVING TANDEM, BY T. SUFFERN TAILER, ESQ. 

"Not every path extends the same, 
But various are the roads to fame ; 
With diiferent eye the same pursuits we view, 
Nor all one wish with equal zeal pursue." 

It is arranged, no doubt wisely, that happiness, 
which is the universal aim of mankind, may be 
pursued by numerous roads, and that they who 
seek it on wheels may choose from a variety of 
conveyances. 

Some press forward to the goal astride the 
bicycle, or in the automobile, for which vehicles 
it may be claimed that at any rate they don't cost 
much to feed ; others drive furiously in a coffin- 
shaped box within four " spider " wheels ; and yet 
others prefer, — 

" To dash along with four-in-hand, while others drive at random, 
In whiskey, buggy, gig or dog-cart, curricle or tandem." 

According the " right of way " to this proces- 
sion, I at length claim the privilege to take my 
pleasure in driving a tandem. 

One of the first requisites of this is nerve, — 
an indispensable requisite, in fact. It is the very 

2D 401 



402 Driving 

spice of danger that makes this form of driving 
exciting; but for a man who has nerve, and 
acquires the proper amount of skill, there is no 
more danger in driving a tandem than any other 
equipage in vogue. Fewer accidents befall ex- 
perienced tandem drivers than those who drive 
any local style of turnout. 

For example, a man in a road wagon of the 
conventional style, with four wheels confining him 
in a narrow box, when his horse bolts has no 
means whatsoever of saving himself ; whereas, in 
a dog-cart, although when the wheeler goes down 
he may get a "father and mother of a fall," he 
does not part company with the vehicle. 

It seems to be established that the most com- 
petent authority on a subject is one who has 
much theoretical, and little practical, knowledge 
of it. 

For a tandem set up on theories alone, the 
horses must be a pair perfectly matched in figure, 
height, color, and action ; either, therefore, fit to 
change places with, and to do the work of, the 
other. Experienced tandem drivers whose opin- 
ions are entitled to consideration dissent decid- 
edly from this view. They maintain that if the 
wheeler, that holds the entire weight on descend- 
ing, and performs nearly all the work, on level 
ground, for which great strength and straight 
action are necessary, is the standard of the pair, 



Driving Tandem 403 

a leader patterned on this type will be too stout 
and too coarse. If the leader, on the other hand, 
in quality, figure, and action is of the perfect type, 
he will be too light, and otherwise unsuited for 
the wheeler's place. 

For tandem carts of standard weight, the 
wheeler, which is the chief factor or mainstay of 
the tandem, should be 15.3 hands high, with a 
well-cut head, deep, sloping shoulders, broad chest, 
short, straight back, wide hips, and strong quarters 
on short, strong legs. To prevent angles in, and 
to afford direct draught of the driving-reins, the 
head should be carried straight and naturally, — 
neither with nose poked out in front, nor pointed 
high like a " star-gazer's," nor yet drawn in to the 
chest, — and he should be a fast and straight goer, 
wasting none of his force in extravagant action. 

" A roadster good, not straddling high, 
Nor shuffling low, I find thee ; 
But stepping straight and cheerily 
Thou leav'st the miles behind thee." 

The leader, whose duties seem to be orna- 
mental chiefly, he having nothing to carry but his 
harness, little work to do except on heavy or hilly 
roads, and nothing to hold down hill, need have 
none of the qualities mentioned as indispensable 
requisites in the wheeler. 

With a wheeler, as before described, 15.3 in 



404 Driving 

height, I should choose a leader 15.2 or 15.2-I; 
a half or three-quarters thoroughbred, but with 
plenty of substance and bone. He should have 
high style and high action all round ; rakish and 
gamy in form, spirit, and action; the head lean 
and thoroughbred looking ; long, clean neck, with 
good crest ; head well up and nose a little out ; 
ears small, sensitive, and pointing to the front ; 
deep, sloping shoulders, high on the withers; 
short, straight back ; strong, muscular loins ; 
straight hips; strong in the hind quarters, with 
muscles running well down. To this should be 
added a light mouth, well bitted, responding with 
the whole body to the lightest touch of the rein ; 
the manners and grace of a gentleman; good 
sense and coolness in tight places, choosing often 
his own way with courage and confidence, — a 
rare and lovable thing in God's creation, but such 
there be or may be made (Plate XXXVII.). 

Of tandem carts there are various patterns, but 
with the New York Tandem Club, the members 
of which have been regarded as the best expo- 
nents, in this country at least, of the proper way of 
appointing a tandem, as well as of driving it, the 
Whitechapel, and the dog-cart represented in 
Henderson's admirable picture entitled " Going to 
Cover," are the two designs in favor at the pres- 
ent time. 

Hitherto the former has been the most popular, 




PLATE XXXVI. — TANDEM OF MR. McCANDLESS 




PLATE XXXVIL— TANDEM OF MR. T. SUFFERN TAILER 



Driving Tandem 405 

doubtless owing to its being the pattern adopted 
by builders, but it has since yielded place in the 
estimation of tandem drivers to the dog-cart de- 
scribed (Plate XXXIV.); though both are, and will 
continue to be, regarded as the highest types of 
their respective kinds. 

The Whitechapel cart derives its name from a 
locality in the East End of London, not nearly 
as aristocratic as Belgravia, and was originally 
intended for some practical purpose, such as 
hawking vegetables or milk, for example. It is 
rude in character, and, like the hansom cab, not 
susceptible of much refinement, and its primitive 
style is by no means improved by rails, lamps, 
and fittings of shafts, in bright metals. 

Well horsed, with appropriate harness, aprons, 
and a smart servant, and driven by an accom- 
plished whip, made up in sympathy, a White- 
chapel tandem is a most audacious " varmint " 
turnout. 

The shafts of a Whitechapel being straight, in 
keeping with its sharp, rakish lines, and its 
wheels being of proper height, a certain amount 
of open space between the body and carriage is 
unavoidable ; but that objectionable feature may 
be in some degree obviated, by painting the latter 
in dark colors, with black striping, although prim- 
rose and vermilion on the under-carriage are 
colors very effective and pleasing. 



4o6 Driving 

A dog-cart of the design in the familiar print 
referred to, as its name and the blinds in its panels 
imply, was invented for the conveyance of dogs 
inside, and is quite different in character, as it is 
also superior in point of comfort, to a White- 
chapel. 

A slight bend in the shafts near their points 
is favorable to closer relations of. the body and 
carriage parts than would be possible with 
straight shafts, a desirable effect in carriage build- 
ing termed " shutting up the daylight." 

The most effective colors for this cart are : for 
the panels, which are carved in imitation of bas- 
ket, a straw or cream, and for the shafts, wheels, 
etc., brightest vermilion striped with black. 

Cushions of dark colors seem most appropriate 
for a cart painted as described, as they are in 
agreeable contrast; but, as they are affected by 
exposure to dust, rain, and the sun, drab Bedford 
cord is the material to be preferred. 

The superior comfort of this dog-cart is attribu- 
table to the construction of its body, which is 
practically a box, open only at its ends on which, 
the rails being bent outwards, the greatest seating 
capacity is secured, and to the facility for getting 
on and off, which is of importance on long jour- 
neys, when the duties of the groom, who has been 
sent forward in advance, are performed by the 
passenger occupying the hind seat. The bright 



Driving Tandem 407 

vermilion and clean straw colors of this cart are 
especially effective in competitions on the tan- 
bark by gaslight, where dark colors show to less 
advantage. 

The cocking-cart (Plate XXXV.) is another 
style, which from its very smartness and dangerous 
height seems especially adapted to tandem driv- 
ing, and is best described as the front boot of a 
coach on two wheels. A local tandem driver in- 
forms me that he once proposed giving his Lon- 
don builder an order for a cart of this kind, but 
though the builder declared his readiness to un- 
dertake its construction on the lines familiar to 
him through his ancestors who built that sort 
of breakneck vehicle, the customer was advised 
"not to trust his life on such a tower upon 
wheels." 

The cocking-cart was used for conveying game 
fowls to the cock-pit, on arriving at which destina- 
tion they were thought to be, from the shaking 
up they had received on the journey, in prime 
condition and temper for the coming battle. 

Except to be used exclusively for fancy tandem 
work, I would not advise the purchase of a cock- 
ing-cart, as, for driving a single horse, it is not to 
be compared with either a Whitechapel or a dog- 
cart. 

There are still other patterns of carts, some of 
which are very good, but I have described those 



4o8 Driving 

I think best suited to tandem driving. Which of 
the many kinds of draughts for carts is most pracr 
tical is a question giving rise to much discussion. 
It must be admitted that, whichever is used, while 
it may be placed a little below the level of the 
hames-draughts, it should never be fixed above 
that line. 

An old tandem driver, to whose judgment I 
defer, informs me that, having tried all sorts of 
draughts, he prefers that from hooks fixed to the 
cross-bar, which he used many years without a 
galled shoulder, but which would be unsuited to 
carts with very high wheels and high, straight 
shafts. If a horse in a well-fitting collar is prop- 
erly put to a cart by his harness, with saddle 
firmly fixed in its place, and back-band loose to 
allow the shafts to play in their tugs, he will work 
from fixed draughts without being injured. Ring 
hames-draughts, of old style, which are most prac- 
tical of all, will contribute more to a horse's com- 
fort than all the new fads in drawing-hooks and 
bars. 

The most practical tandem harness, and the 
most effective on all horses, with all carts, and in 
all places, was suggested by, and in character is 
similar to, the four-horse harness of mail and stage- 
coach days, when everything useful and nothing 
superfluous, was the rule. Some of its salient 
features are its collars with angular or pointed 



Driving Tandem 409 

throats, for preventing choking from pressure on 
the windpipe; ringed hames-draughts • — least 
rigid, most yielding to shoulders, and most dur- 
able ever designed, and like every two metal parts 
working on each other (as leader's spring trace- 
hooks and tandem eyes of wheeler's trace-buckles), 
polished to avoid mutilation by friction ; leader's 
pad, or saddle, shaped to suit the back, however 
sharp; strapping (as cruppers, loin-strap, etc.) 
unlined and unstitched, in keeping with the broad, 
stout traces of single thickness, of which the 
wheeler's, furnished with chains at the ends, are 
adaptable to the draughts, however long or short, 
of all carts without moving the points of traces or 
disfiguring them with three-cornered holes made 
by a jack-knife. The harness above described, 
while specially in keeping with the Whitechapel 
cart, is very appropriate for the more showy, 
highly painted dog-cart ; as the more costly lined 
and much-sewn harness is not out of place in both 
these traps. 

The chief objection, and almost the sole one, to 
the harness of my choice, is its reasonable cost — 
none whatever to its appearance or effect can 
be offered, a set each of brown and black leather 
costing, together, little more than the value of one 
set of the other kind of harness. 

The tandem of Mr. G. F. McCandless (Plate 
XXXVI.), an honorary member of the New York 



4IO Driving 

Tandem Club, will be remembered by those who 
saw it in the competitions at the first horse show ; 
for effective association of colors of horses and 
cart, as well as for other appointments, it stood at 
that time unrivalled, whether seen on the road, in 
the park, or on the tan-bark of Madison Square 
Garden. The illustration is by Gray- Parker. 
It is only a sketch, and in it there are defects 
which did not exist in the original. For example, 
Mr. McCandless's position on the box is too rigid 
and straight ; the wheeler is too far away from his 
work. Nevertheless, the drawing is very smart. 
This is a good example of the " going-to-cover " 
cart described above. Mr. McCandless, whose 
taste in such matters will not be questioned, has 
in use the harness recommended in this article. 

Inquiries are sometimes made as to the correct- 
ness of using either the leader's loin-strap, or 
wheeler's kicking-strap alone, that is, either with- 
out the other. Both are practical appliances, and 
either or both may be dispensed with, though the 
loin-strap seems to be necessary for sustaining the 
very considerable length of the lead traces ; while 
the kicking-strap, except for finish, is necessary 
only when a kicker in the shafts is to be restrained. 
A breeching for the wheeler, entirely useless on 
the level, is indispensable for journeys through a 
hilly country. 

Views differ as to the length of lead traces. It 



Driving Tandem 411 

is admitted that to place a draught-horse as near 
his work as possible is preferable, but it is claimed 
that the rule does not apply to a tandem leader, 
who works only on heavy or hilly ground, his 
office being chiefly ornamental ; indeed, as a friend 
of mine used to say, the duty of the leader was to 
deceive the wheeler, who would cheerfully do all 
the work in tandem, when he seemed to under- 
stand that he was being pulled along, though he 
was dull in single harness. 

A longish tandem is good in outline, and for 
horses 15.3 hands I prefer lead traces 10 feet 
to 10 feet 6 inches in length. Short traces, re- 
quiring the leader at all times to be in his col- 
lar to keep clear of the wheeler, are especially 
adapted to the use of drivers whose leaders are 
always at work up hill, down hill, and on level 
ground ; while longer ones are the sort for skilful 
performers whose lead traces are gently swinging 
when, on smooth roads, the cart seems to run of 
itself. 

Within a few years there has been invented a 
contrivance for attaching lead traces to the 
wheeler's harness by two bars, or " whiffletrees," 
of different lengths, suspended by a chain from 
the wheeler's hames-chain. For the use of ladies 
who drive tandem, or occasional experimental 
drivers of the other sex, such safety arrangement 
must be invaluable, but tandem drivers of the old 



412 Driving 

school would hardly utilize such substitutes for 
skill, or, to use an English slang term, they 
" wouldn't be found dead with 'em," lest they be 
denied a decent burial. 

The driving seat, which is called " the box," is 
made up of a hollow wooden box, with top sloping, 
from the required height at the back, to its front 
edge of, say, two or more inches in thickness, the 
four sides being covered with the same material as 
that of the cushion, which is scooped or hollowed 
on its upper surface, sloped on its side edges, tufted 
throughout its breadth and depth for firmness, and 
should be fitted to the driver. For adapting it to 
the use of all drivers, of whatever length of leg, 
there is a cushion of no fixed dimensions ; but it 
is found that one comfortable for a man of, say, 
5 feet lo inches, and average weight, with a 
correct seat and slightly bent knees and feet 
drawn together, will suit nearly all, the shorter 
man sitting a little forward and the taller one a 
little back upon the cushion. A box-cushion so 
thick in its front edge as to chafe the under side 
of the legs of a driver with a good seat and feet 
resting naturally against the sloping foot-board, 
will cause much discomfort. 

A score or more of years ago in England was 
conceived the fad of plain, unshaped box-cushions 
for coaches, so high at the back and with a pitch 
so steep that the dragsman could not sit in and 



A 



Driving Tandem 413 

could only lean against them, nearly this entire 
weight being sustained by the foot-board ; an 
example of which may be seen in Barrand's pic- 
ture entitled, " The London Season," published 
in 1870. This absurd fashion was short-lived. 

If such a cushion is unsuited to a coach, it is 
even more unfit for a two-wheeled cart, because 
when the off-side wheel drops suddenly into a 
hole, or strikes the ground after passing over a 
considerable obstacle, the driver from his leaning 
position, his legs being straight and rigid, is liable 
to be shot out of his seat into the road, or de- 
posited on the wing over the wheel, from which 
latter place a friend of mine informs me he was 
often so fortunate, when using the objectionable 
sort of cushion described, as to be able to scramble 
back into his place without " pulling up." 

Sitting in, not leaning against, a shaped cushion, 
with body erect and knees slightly bent, and yield- 
ing to the motion of the cart, the danger men- 
tioned will be materially lessened, and if forewarned 
of a wheeler's falling, the driver may save himself 
from being landed beyond the horse's head, even 
if he fails to retain his seat in the cart. 

It must have been to this conforming to the 
movement of the vehicle' on the importance of 
which, as affecting safety, so much stress is laid, 
that the celebrated Jack Mytton owed his preser- 
vation when, running his gig-wheel up a bank, he 



414 Driving 

aiforded his passenger a new sensation by pitch- 
ing him out like a sack of meal, and when, also, 
as was his custom, he charged a gate with his 
tandem, for he survived those and other similar 
exploits. In my limited experience in driving tan- 
dems I have never had a leader, however vicious, 
part company with the wheeler and bolt with his 
harness dangling about him ; but if that event is 
yet to occur, and the twenty-three feet of lead-reins 
run clear, leaving my wheeler's bridle intact and 
in place, I shall attribute such good fortune to 
unbuckled hand-parts, and to the freedom of 
action of the swivels in my wheel throat-latch, so 
very practical, and so much to be preferred to the 
fixtures attaching to the rosettes at the wheeler's 
ears. 

The whip, like every other appointment of the 
tandem, is English, and is a very different affair 
from the flail-like instrument used by our ances- 
tors. Of a tandem-whip, the stick should be 5 
feet and the thong 12 feet 6 inches long. Some 
authorities fix the length of the thong at 10 feet 
or even less, to which, though seemingly imprac- 
ticable, certain tandem drivers conform involun- 
tarily by cutting off with their wheel a yard or so 
of point and leaving it in the road. The con- 
venient disposal of this thong of such consid- 
erable length severely tries the patience and 
tests the skill of the beginner. 



Driving Tandem 415 

Holding the stick in the right hand at about 
the upper mounting for balance, and the point of 
the thong between the stick and the fingers, by a 
dexterous motion, proceeding entirely from the 
wrist, pitch the thong over to the right of, and 
away from, the stick, which, being suddenly stopped, 
the thong returns upon and is wound round it 
about four times, producing the long, depending, 
open loop, which is called the " double thong." 
The coils are followed down the stick by a small 
loop, and yet other coils of the point of the thong, 
but in the opposite direction to the first ones. 
Taking the small lower loop between the thumb 
and forefinger of the rein-hand (which should in 
no case be disturbed or diverted from its purpose 
when driving), by a movement of the stick with 
the right, disengage the point of the thong and 
lay it along the stick to the hand. A turn or two 
of the double thong round the stick to the right, 
or off side, will effect the figure 8, which some 
authorities condemn, but which is practical, as it 
holds the thong on the stick when double thong- 
ing a wheeler, or when driving in a high wind ; and 
many old coaching prints attest its correctness, 
although it has often been suggested that the 
methods of the men working a coach a hundred 
miles a day, when coaching was a trade as well 
as an art, have been improved upon since it be- 
came a pastime. 



4i6 Driving 

The catching of two double thongs at the same 
time, with as many whips held one in each hand, 
is an altogether useless performance, and is 
suggestive of the practice of legerdemain rather 
than coaching. Men who drive, or who have 
driven their own teams, would hardly devote their 
time to such a purposeless occupation. 

The thongs of new tandem whips are always 
wiry, and it is difficult to make them hold to the 
stick. The scheme recommended for making 
them pliable is the following : loan your whip to 
a persevering beginner and tell him, " Shut your- 
self up in your room and learn to catch your whip 
there and in private," as advised by the author of 
" Down the Road." 

If he really is ambitious, and has the necessary 
application, and particularly if he persists in 
following his own methods, by the time he has 
acquired the simple little trick your thong will 
have become quite supple ; but if you are 
likely to want your whip within a reasonable 
time, you had better not concede to him the 
privilege of keeping it until he has attained to 
proficiency, as you may not get it back during 
his natural life. 

Beginners are much given to concerning them- 
selves about the cost and ornamentation of 
their whips rather than the proper mode of 
using them. A whip with extravagant mount- 



Driving Tandem 417 

ings in unskilful hands renders its owner ridic- 
ulous. The most important quality of any 
whip is its feeling or balance, which is utterly 
sacrificed to the silversmith when he is al- 
lowed to affix to its butt a foot of his metal 
of mediaeval style. It is better to buy other 
examples of his skill, and preserve your whip 
in its original serviceable form. 

The yew is the only whip of which I find 
mention in old coaching days : — 

" For, sure, the coachman hands are few, 
That wield in style the polished yew," 

and barring the fault peculiar to it of warping, the 
yew is a capital stick. Holly is now in almost 
universal use for whips of English style, and of all 
whips and sticks is undoubtedly to be preferred. 
Some thorns are also used, but it is rare to find 
that sort of stick with the taper and feeling or 
life of hollies, they being mostly of nearly uniform 
substance from butt-end to point. 

Since the publication of the coaching book, 
entitled " Down the Road," in which is an illus- 
tration of the dog-legged four-horse whip presented 
to the author by the professional coachman, Tom 
Hennessy, no dragsman's or tandem driver's 
collection of whips is considered complete with- 
out at least one whip with a single crook in the 
stick. 



4i8 Driving 

Driving aprons are important in the equipment 
of a tandem, and should be in keeping with its 
character. Bedford cords, box cloths, and other 
materials of drab color are most durable, and for 
sporting traps, most effective in appearance, and 
their care involves comparatively little expenditure 
of time and labor. 

Aprons of plain dark colors furnish an agreeable 
contrast to the driver's top-coat and the servant's 
livery greatcoat when those garments are of drab ; 
but the work of keeping them clean is slavish, and 
continual, and they quickly fade and lose their 
freshness, on account of which objections to them, 
drab ones, being free from the faults named, are 
preferred. 

A turnout, with a simple apron for the front 
seat, and none for the shivering groom on the 
hind seat, has an unfinished look, suggestive of 
insufficient means or want of thoughtfulness for 
the comfort of the servant. 

Devotees of the art of tandem driving, who 
have not enjoyed the treat of a perusal of that 
charming book entitled " Frank Fairleigh," by 
Mr. Smedley, may be entertained by the author's 
description of the turnout of the Honorable 
George Lawless, as follows: — 

" Perched high in mid-air, upon some mysterious 
species of dog-cart, bearing a striking resemblance 
to the box to a mail-coach, which had contrived. 



Driving Tandem 419 

by some private theory of development of its own, 
to dispense with its body, while it had enlarged 
its wheels to an almost incredible circumference ; 
perched on top of this remarkable machine, and 
enveloped in a white greatcoat undermined in 
every direction by strange and unexpected pockets, 
was none other than the Hon. George Lawless. 

" The turnout was drawn by a pair of thorough- 
breds, driven tandem, which were now, their iras- 
cible tempers being disturbed by delay, relieving 
their feelings by executing a kind of hornpipe 
upon their hind legs." 

The top-coat recognized as the standard for 
driving at the present day is called a " driving- 
cape," doubtless from its resemblance in the mat- 
ter of amplitude of skirts to a sleeved cape ; and 
when properly constructed as to its lines, balance, 
and the position of its pockets is a very " down- 
the-road " looking garment — a refinement of the 
" Upper-Benjamin " of stagecoach days. Made 
of stout cloth of drab color, not white ; furnished 
with a velvet collar which hangs off from the 
neck to allow room inside it for a coaching 
muffler with a bit of spot; the leather-lined 
pockets, with flaps of liberal size, placed low in 
the skirts for convenience of access ; the outward 
seams strapped and stoutly sewn, and lined with 
an effective plaid of woollen, when hung at proper 
balance on the shoulders, which sustain its whole 



420 Driving 

weight, and whence, in a downward direction, its 
circumference increases until, at the bottom of 
the skirts, which reach the knees, it stands out 
from the wearer all around as if hooped inside, 
it is very comfortable and of workmanlike appear- 
ance whether worn or laid down on the box- 
cushion of a coach or tandem cart. 

Having described the properly appointed tan- 
dem, we will suppose it has been brought round 
to the door by the groom, who, having got down 
and hung the reins on the wheeler's off-side terret, 
or looped them through the corner of the dasher, 
takes his place at the wheeler's head, where he 
remains until his master picks up the ribbons, 
when he goes to the head of the leader. Insert- 
ing the middle finger of the right hand between 
the wheeler's reins, and the forefinger between the 
leader's, always keeping the near-side rein of each 
on top, you have the near lead-rein over the fore- 
finger, the off lead and near wheel reins in the 
order mentioned between the fore and middle 
fingers, and the off wheel-rein between the 
middle and second fingers. Having assorted 
and placed the reins as directed, and adjusted 
them as to length, still holding them together 
with the whip in your right hand, laying hold 
of the seat rail, with your left you climb into the 
cart, and transferring your reins, without change 
of their relations, to the corresponding fingers of 
the left hand, you drop into your seat. 



Driving Tandem 421 

Some carts, from their peculiar construction 
and arrangement of seat, rail, and steps, not 
being adapted to the pulling yourself up by the 
rail with the left hand alone, as on a coach, it 
may be necessary to take hold of the rail or the 
corner of the dasher with the right, when care 
should be taken not to disturb the wheeler with 
the whip, which, with the reins, you have in that 
hand. 

Your passenger should have gotten up in the 
box-seat at the same time as, or after, the driver, 
but not before. 

Having satisfied yourself that everything is 
shipshape, gently feeling the horses' mouths by 
their reins, — those of the leader, who should not 
be in the collar at the start, should be a little less 
slack than his traces, — you start your horses by 
an " all right," or a " let 'em go," or a double click, 
or by some other signal, but in no event using 
the improper " pull up " in vogue, of meaning 
directly opposed to your purpose. 

Having seen the leader started, the servant, not 
moving from his position, salutes his master as 
the tandem passes, and when the tail of the cart 
reaches him he climbs up, taking his place in the 
middle of the hind seat and sitting quite erect 
with folded arms, instead of slouching about " all 
over the shop." A servant should have pride 
enough to do his part in maintaining the char- 



422 Driving 

acter of the turnout which he renders ridiculous 
when sprawling in his seat and gaping about as 
though waiting to recognize passing acquaint- 
ances. He should look intently into space, and 
affect to see nothing. A tandem is dependent 
very much for its effect upon the groom, who 
should be " all alive," and when he feels the pace 
slackening, should concern himself as to the pur- 
pose, and, getting to the ground quickly, find his 
way to the leader's head by the time the team is 
pulled up. 

A dapper, trim-built groom, of light weight and 
medium height, is most in keeping with the 
character of a tandem, for which a very tall or 
a very stout servant is unsuited. 

When no passenger occupies it, the groom's 
place is in the box-seat by the side of his master, 
the tailboard of the cart being shut up. Lord 
Tomnoddy's — 

" Tiger Tim, 
Was clean of limb, 

His boots were polished, his jacket was trim ! 
With a very smart tie in his smart cravat, 
And a smart cockade on the top of his hat ; 
Tallest of boys, or shortest of men. 
He stood in his stockings just four feet ten ! " 

The equipage of the Honorable George Lawless, 
whose cart and top-coat I have already described, 
and whose taste in all matters appertaining to the 



Driving Tandem 423 

appointment of a tandem was unquestioned, " was 
completed by a tiger so small, that, beyond a 
vague sensation of top-boots, and a livery hat, 
one's senses failed to realize him." 

Rules for driving that have been made by the 
proper authorities should be carefully observed. 
Occasion may arise when it is necessary to take 
liberties with prescribed forms. In tandem driv- 
ing, which should be done with one hand as 
much as possible, there is one rule, the observ- 
ance of which is essential to safety, and that is 
never to lose your horses' mouths by getting your 
hands so close up to your chest that you have no 
space to spare for pulling up. You may see some 
drivers with their hands nearly up to their chins 
and looking supremely happy in their ignorance 
of the risk they incur. The proper position of 
the left or rein hand is a few inches forward of 
the body, with the elbow adown the side and 
close to but not pressing against it. Nothing is 
more awkward than the elbows at an angle show- 
ing daylight between them and the body. 

The draught on the reins from the elbows to 
the horses' mouths should be as nearly as possible 
on a straight line. 

I would strongly advise beginners to avail 
themselves of the instructions of any recognized 
professional dragsman of whatever pretensions. 
If you find one incompetent to teach you, you 



424 Driving 

are confirmed in your own skill, which is worth 
all you have paid for the information. It would 
be strange if any man who had practised the 
calling for any considerable length of time had 
not picked up some wrinkles or dodges worth 
knowing that had escaped the learner hitherto. 
An accomplished instructor having been found, 
pupils should take a full course of lessons, as, how- 
ever apt scholars, they will hardly have absorbed 
in a limited number all the knowledge acquired 
by one who has devoted a lifetime to the pursuit. 
Nearly all beginners are too anxious to exhibit 
their self-reliance, and declare too early their in- 
dependence of the mentor. 

Acquire the correct methods, or aim to do so, 
of doing all things connected with tandem driv- 
ing, and be satisfied with nothing else ; there can 
be no compromise with what is called "form," 
a word, it may be remarked, so significant as to 
admit of no qualifications ; a thing is *' form " or 
is not "form," and the terms "good" and "bad" 
prefixed to it are as superfluous as if applied to 
perfection (compare p. 314). And when adopting 
the customs peculiar to another country, one 
should make sure he can reach an accepted 
standard before attempting to improve upon it 
or surpass it. Ambitious parties who always aim 
to exceed recognized standards, essay to drive a 
tandem of three or four horses, which they style 



Driving Tandem 425 

" trandom," and " random " — a straining after effect 
in name as well as performance. As any number 
of single horses, not less than two, harnessed in 
a single line, are properly described as a tandem, 
such aspirants for fame, having a name provided 
for their turnout, may be concerned solely lest 
they find themselves with too many horses and 
too few hands for driving them. In my lexicons 
of coaching and driving, no application of either 
" trandom " or " random " is found, and, unless the 
parties have a dictionary of their own, I do not 
believe there is any authority for such use of the 
words. A tandem of two horses, of which the 
leader turns round and faces the cart, may be 
said to be driven at random. 

I wish, in closing, to express my obligation and 
acknowledgment to Mr. Burton Mansfield, the 
accepted authority in this country for many years 
upon tandems and tandem driving, for the valuable 
assistance he has given me in preparing this 
article. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Draft Book of Centennial Carriages displayed in Philadelphia. 

Report on Diseases of the Horse, 1903. Department of Agricul- 
ture, Washington, D.C. 

How to Buy and Sell. Howden. 

Riders of Many Lands. Dodge. 

Practical Horse Shoeing. Fleming. 

Diseases and Injuries of the Horse. Kirby. 

The Horse in Motion. Stillman. 

Bridle Bits. Battersby. 

Modern Horsemanship. E. L. Anderson. 

Horses, Saddles, and Bridles. Colonel W. H. Carter. 

The Practical Horse Keeper. Fleming. 

Hints on Driving. Captain C. Morley Knight. 

The Horse in the Stable and in the Field. J. H. Walsh (Stone- 
henge). 15th ed. revised by Harold Leeney. 

Points of the Horse. Captain Hayes. 

Veterinary Notes for Horse Owners. Captain Hayes. 

The Private Stable. James A. Garland. 

Breaking and Riding. James Fillis. Translated by Captain Hayes. 

Youatt on the Horse. Youatt. 

Complete Modern Farrier. Brown. 

The Art of Horsemanship. Xenophon. Translated and edited by 
M. H. Morgan. 

The Perfect Horse. W. H. H. Murray. 

Horses and Harness. E. F. Flower. 

Omnibuses and Cabs. H. C. Moore. 

427 



428 Bibliography 

Horse Sense. J. C. Cunyer. 

Philipson on Harness. John Philipson. 

Our Noblest Friend the Horse. Francis M. Ware. 

Driving. Francis M. Ware and Others. 

A Manual of Coaching. Fairman Rogers. 

American Horses and Horse Breeding. Dimon. 

Driving Lessons. E. Howlett. 

Experience with the Trotters and Pacers. E. Geers. 

Driving for Pleasure. Francis T. Underhill. 

Whips and Whip-making. W. G. Ashford. 

Driving. Duke of Beaufort. Badminton Library. 

An Old Coachman's Chatter. Edward Corbett. 

The Coach Horn : What to blow and how to blow it. An Old 

Guard. 
Driving as I Found It. Swales. 
Brighton and its Coaches. William C. A. Blew. 
Stage Coach and Tavern Days. Alice Morse Earle. 
Every Horse Owner's Cyclopaedia. J. H. Walsh (Stonehenge). 
Lessons in Horse Judging. W. Fearnley. 
The Form of the Horse. J. C. L. Carson. 
The Horse. W. H. Flower, C.B. 
The Pocket, and the Stud. Charles Brinley. 
Mayhew's Horse Management. Revised by J. L Lupton. 
Seats. Saddles. Major Dwyer. 
Astley's System of Horse Education. Philip Astley. 
The Book of the Horse. S. Sidney. 



INDEX 



Acidity of stomach, cure for, 248. 

Age of horses, determining, 205. 

Aids, application of the, 88-89. 

Air in stables, 211, 212-213, 218. 

Alcohol, hardening skin with, 247. 

Ale, use of, in sickness, 241, 247. 

Alidor, 30. 

Alix, trotting record of, 290. 

Aloes as a purgative, 247. 

America, the home of the horse, 
162-164. 
Horse history of, 162, 179-194. 
Importation of horses to, 162, 

180-182, 191, 285. 
Number of work-animals com- 
pared with other countries, 
163-164, 
Roads in, 192-194. 

American Saddle-horse Breeders' 
Association, 16. 

Anderson, Richard Clough, 80. . 

Andrew Jackson, 190. 

Antiseptics, 244, 249. 

Aperients in horses' diet, 40, 234, 
240, 247. 

Apples for horses, 40, 234. 

Aprons, driving, 418. 

Arabella, horses on the, 181. 

Arabian. See Darley and Markham. 

Arabians, degeneration of, 4-5. 

Argentine Republic, horses in, 163. 

Army horsemen. See Cavalry. 



" Art of Horsemanship, The," Xeno- 

phon's, 64, 15s, 203, 267. 
Ass, brain of, 161 n. 
Auctions, purchasing at, 34-35. 
Aure, M. d', master of riding, 75. 
Australia, statistics of horses, 163. 
Austria, number of horses in, 163. 

Wagon rims in, 194. 
Axles, inspection of, 278. 

Backing, training horses in, 135-137, 

296. 
Backs of horses, defective points 

regarding, 204. 
Balking, 98-99. 
Ball Brothers, breeders, 52-53. 
Bandaging of horses, 42-43. 
Barbary, horses from, in America, 

182, 183. 
Barley, as food, 233, 240. 

Nutritive value of, 237. 
Baucher, M., riding authority, 75, 

109, 129, 155. 
Bay Bolton, 285. 
Bayard, Henri Franconi's, 100. 
Beans for horses, 233-234, 237. 
Bearing-reins, 272-273, 305. 
In driving — 

Four, 368-369. 
Pair, 345. 
Tandem, 396. 
Bedding in stalls, 39-40. 



429 



430 



Index 



Belle Hamlin, 284. 

Berthune, 8. 

Bits, care of, 218, 317. 

Duke of Newcastle on, 268. 

Fit of, 268-269. 

Horses not led by, in harnessing, 
316, 334- 

Leather, for young colts, 293. 

Selection of, for harness-horses, 
297. 

Snaffle, in training colts, 294. 

Tandem-driving, 396. 

Varieties of, 56, 268. 

Xenophon's advice, 267-268, 
Bitting exercises for colts, 25-28. 
Bones of ideal horse, 200, 201. 
Bonnie Scotland, Miss Lake's, loo. 
Book, stable, 228-229. 
Books. See Works. 
Boston, 12. 
Boston Blue, 189. 

Boston Horse, trotting record of, 290. 
Bourbon King, 52, 53. 
Box-stalls, 39, 216, 217, 221. 
Brain, statistics of, in animals, 161 n. 
Brakes, use and misuse of, 306-308. 
Bran as food, 234, 237. 
Bran mash, receipt, 240. 
Breaking-in of colts, 20-29, 291- 

293- 
Fallacies regarding, 298-299. 
Breastplate (Dutch collar), 265. 
Adjustment of, in harnessing a 
pair, 336. 
Breeching, use of, 274, 306. 

In tandem-driving, 393, 410. 
Breeders, Kentucky, 47-53. 
Breeding, 5, 8-13, 16, 285-289. See 

Stock farms. 
Bridle, the, 1 21-124, 266. 
Double, 57-58, 114-117. 



Bridling horse, method of, 58-59. 
Britain, history of horse in, 7, 182. 
Broken knees, treatment of, 245. 
Bronson, Mr., cited, 361. 
Brow-band, the, 267, 272. 
Bruises, treatment of, 243-244, 246. 
" Buck eye," the, 197. 
Buffalo Bill, 79-80. 
Bully Rock, 191. 
Bussigny, H. L. de, 72, 88. 
Byerly Turk, 4, 191. 

Canada, the first horse in, iSl. 

Pacers from, 16. 
Canter, the, 128. See Hand-gallop. 
Carriages, care of, 222, 223, 277-279. 

History of, 191-192. 

Insignia on, 280-282. 
Carrots for horses, 40, 234, 237, 240. 
Carter, General, 67. 
Carts for tandem-driving, 399-400, 

404-408. 
Casting the horse, 22-23, 152-153. 
Castleman, General John B., 16. 

Breeding establishment of, 48-49. 

Horsemanship of, 79. 
Castleman, Major David, 49. 
Cat, brain of, 161 n. 
Cavalry, British, 77. 

Fort Riley school, 81-84. 

French, 74-75- 

German, 73-74. 

Italian, 75. 

Oats allowance in, 233. 

Origins of, 66. 

Oxen used for, 179. 

United States, 80-84. 

Use of stirrups by, 67. 
Cavesson, lessons on the, 23-26, loi, 

151- 
Cayuse ponies, 9, 80. 



Index 



431 



Cecil Palmer, 49. 

Chafing, cure of, 245. 

Chains vs. leather in pole-pieces, 

335-336, 358. 
Charles Kent mare, the, 285. 
Charleston, S.C., jockey-club of, 188. 
Charlier shoe, the, 257. 
Check-reins, 272-273, 297. 
Cherokee ponies, so-called, 86, 
Chest of ideal horse, 199. 
Children, riding-lessons for, 85-87. 
Chills, treatment of, 246. 
Chimney-sweeps, salutes to, 365. 
Cleaning of horses, 42, 43, 230. 
Clicking, cause and remedy, 257. 
Clifton Farm, 49. 
Clover, use of, as food, 234. 
Coaches, rules for judging, 382-391. 
Coach horns, 378-379. 
Coaching, present-day, 353-381. 
Coaching Club, rules of, for judging 
drags and road-coaches, 
382-391, 
Coachman, cushion for, 302, 326, 
400, 412-413, 

Details in clothing of, 300-302, 

Living-rooms of, 216, 223-224, 

Seat of, 302, 326. 

Signals from, to horse, 318-319. 
Coachmen, a distinction between 

drivers and, 347. 
Cocking-cart, the, 407. 
Cockspur, 16, 

Cody, Colonel W, F,, 79-80, 
Colds, symptoms of, and treatment, 

241-242. 
Colic, causes of, and remedies, 242, 

248, 
Collars, 263, 265. 

In tandem-driving, 408-409. 

Warming of, 264, 333. 



Collodion, flexible, as remedy, 248. 
Colors desirable in saddle-horses, 35. 
Colts, training, 20-29, 291—299. 
Columbus, horses imported by, 162, 

180. 
"Combined horses," 150, 
Conestoga horse, origin of, 181. 
Confidence, trotting record of, 290, 
Cooling of horses, 248, 
Copperbottom, 13-14. 
Corbett, Edward, quoted, 322. 
Corn for horses, 234. 
Corners, turning, 313, 328-329, 375> 

397- 
Corns, cause of, 253, 255. 
Corradini, training of horse by, 45, 
Cortes, horses of, 180. 
Coupling-reins, 335, 340-344- 

Time of buckling, 336-337. 
Cracked heels, so-called, 243. 
Cresceus, 290. 
Cribbing, one sign of, 206. 
Crop, use of, 56, 

Cross-gallop, rectification of, 131, 
Croup, work on, with saddle-horses, 

1 1 7-1 20, 123, 
Cruiser, descendants of, 12. 
Crupper, the, 274, 305-306, 

Adjustment of, in harnessing, 316, 
Cunning of horses, 98. 
Curb-bit, the, 57. 

Lessons with, 1 14-1 1 7, 

Use of, 1 21-124, 
Curb-chains, 269, 317. 
Currycomb, abolition of, advised, 42. 
Curzon, Lady, cited, 394. 
Cushion, driver's, 302, 326. 

In tandem-driving, 400, 412-413, 

Daphne, 13. 

Darley Arabian, 4, 5, 8, 191, 



432 



Index 



Dealers, behavior to, 31-32, 178. 
Denmark (founder), 15-16, 47. 
Denmark, Gaines's, 16. 
Denmark strain, 9, 15, 52. 
Descriptions of ideal horse, 35-37, 

196-204. 
De Soto, horses of, 180, 181. 
Dexter, 286, 290. 
Diarrhoea, treatment of, 242, 247. 
Dickens, 52. 
Dictator, 286. 
Diomed, 8, 16, 191. 
Diseases, treatment of horses', 239- 

250. 
Disinfectants, use of, in stables, 223, 

229. 
Dismounting, method of, 61, 63. 
Docking of tails, 304-305. 
Dog, brain of, 161 n. 
Dog-carts, for tandem-driving, 404. 

Origin of name, 406. 
Dogskin, driving gloves of, 301. 
Doors of stables, 215, 220. 
Dorothy, General Castleman's, 48. 
Double bridle, lessons with, 57-58, 

114-117. 
" Down the Road," 416, 417. 
Drags, rules for judging, 382-391. 
Drainage of stables, 39, 211, 215, 

217, 220. 
Dress, coachman's, 300-302. 

In tandem-driving, 419-420. 
Dressing of horses, 42-44. 
Drivers, distinction drawn between 

coachmen and, 347. 
Driving, four-in-hand, 353-381. 

"Form" in, 313-314, 424. 

One horse, 318-332. 

Pair, 333-352. 

Position of hands in, 309-31 1,423. 

Tandem, 401-425. 



Driving apron, the, 418. 

Driving cape, the, 419-420. 

" Driving for Pleasure," Underbill's, 

279. 352- 
Driving for punishment, remarks on, 

352. 
Duke, General Basil, cited, 3. 
Dutchman, trotting record of, 290. 

Ears of ideal horse, 197. 
Eclipse (1764), 7-8, 12. 
Education of horses. See Training. 
Edwin Forrest, trotting record, 29a 
Egypt, horses of ancient, 6. 
Elliott, Lieutenant Duncan, 83. 
Elsa, 50. 

Emily, General Castleman's, 48. 
England, horsemen of, 72-73, 75-77. 

Horses of early and mediaeval, 7, 
183-184. 

Roads in, 183. 

Stage-coach history in, 191-192. 
English Stud Book (or "Match 

Book "), the, 185. 
"Equus beds," 179. 
Ethan Allen, 190. 

Europe, horsemanship of continen- 
tal, 72-75. 
Exercise of horses, 41, 230. 

Indoor, 44-45. 

Necessity of, urged, 148-149. 
Exercises, mounted, 70-72. 

Suppling, I13-117. 
Eye, of ideal horse, 197. 

Defective points, 204. 

Falkland Island horses, 172. 
Falls from or with horse, 144-145. 

Causes of, 150, 154-155- 
Farms. See Stock farms. 
Feeding of horses, 40-41, 225-238. 



Index 



433 



Feet, advice on horses', 201. 

Care of. See Shoeing. 

Cleaning, 43, 230, 253. 

Defects in, 205. 

Effect of placing of, on action, 
18-19. 

Evolution of, 170-172. 

Formation of, 252. 

Nails in, 245. 
Fetlock of ideal horse, 200-201. 
Fevers, 241. 
Fiord ponies, 7, 10. 
Flanders, horses from, in America, 

181, 182. 
Flexion of jaw by suppling, 114- 

117. 
Floors in stables, 39, 216-217. 
Flora Temple, 1 90, 290. 
" Flying Coach," the, 192. 
Fomentation, defined, 247. 
Food for horses, 40-41, 225-238. 

Effect of, on teeth, 206. 
Foot founders, 245-246. 
Foot-rail, dangers of, 303, 400. 
Forest Denmark, 52. 
Forging, remedy for, 257-258. 
"Form," discussion of, 313-314. 

In tandem-driving, 424. 
Fort Riley, cavalry school at, 81-84. 
Fossil remains of horses, 5, 169-171. 
Founder, remedy for, 249. 
Four-in-hand driving, 353-381. 
Fox, 285. 
France, number of horses in, 163. 

Riders in, 74-75. 

Riding-masters of, 75. 

Roads in, 193. 

Wagon devices in, 194. 
Franconi, Henri, 86-87, i°°- 
" Frank Fairleigh," Smedley's, refer- 
ences to, 418-419, 423. 
2F 



Freshness, avoidance of. See Exer- 
cise. 
Fritz, William, 87. 
Full-gallop, the, 128. 

Gaits, the three essential, in saddle- 
horses, 17. 
Gallop, the, 124-125. 

Full (racing pace), 128. 

Halt in, 133-134. 

School (pace), 128. 

Variations of form of, 127-134. 

Wheel in, 132-133. 
Gallop changes, 128-132. 
Galls, collar and saddle, 245. 
Garland, James A., "The Private 

Stable " by, 279. 
Garrard, Major Castleman's, 49-50. 
Gay Brothers, breeders, 50-51. 
Geers, Ed., 284. 

Germany, statistics of horses in, 
163. 

Riders in, 73-74. 

Wagon tires in, 194. 
Gipsey, 285. 
Globe, 284. 

Gloves, driving, 301-302. 
Godolphin Barb, 4. 
Gohanna, 12. 

" Going to Cover," Henderson's, 404. 
Goldsmith Maid, 189, 190, 290. 
Grass, nutritive value, 18, 237, 240. 
Great Britain, numbers of horses 
in, 163. See Britain and 
England. 
Greece, horses of ancient, 6-7. 
Greeks, stirrups unknown to ancient, 

65. 
Grinsone, work on horsemanship by, 

129, 155- 
Grooming of horses, 42, 43, 230. 



434 



Index 



Grooms, office of, in tandem-driving, 

421-422. See Stablemen. 

Ground-shyness in saddle-horses, 

Gueriniere, M., 75. 

Half-halt, the, 107-108. 
Halt in gallop, the, 133-134. 
Hambletonian, 285. 

Influence of, on trotting descend- 
ants, 286-287. 

Pedigree of, 285. 
Hames, the, 264. 
Hamhn, C. J., 288. 
Hand-gallop ("canter"), the, 91, 

106, 127. 
Hands, position of, in driving, 309- 

3". 423- 
"Hands" in driving, defined, 321- 

323- 
" Hansom's Patent Safety Cab," 192. 
Harness, 259-283. 

Care of, 218, 222, 276-277, 280. 

Four-in-hand, 282. 

Insignia on, 280-282. 

Runabout, 282. 

Saddle-horses should not be used 
in, 150. 

Tandem, 393-394» 408-411- 
Harnessing, four horses, 366-367. 

One horse, 315-316. 

Pair, 333-334- 

Tandem, 393, 395. 
Harness room, construction of, 218, 

221. 
Hay, as food, 18, 40, 232-233, 237. 
Hay tea, receipt, 241. 
Head, points of horse's, 196-198, 

202, 204. 
Heating of stables, 218, 223. 
Hedgeford (imported), 15. 



Hennessy, Tom, 417. 

High jumpers, characteristics of, II. 

Highland Denmark, 50. 

Highland Maid, trotting record, 290. 

Highways. See Roads. 

Hills, driving up and down, 308-309. 

Hobson, General, 41. 

Hocks, consideration of, 202, 204. 

Holly for whips, 417. 

Hoofs, advice on, 201. See Feet. 

Horns, coach, 378-379. 

Horse-racing. See Racing. 

Horses, the brain in, 161 n. 

Care of, 159, 164-168, 208-210. 

Defects in, 204-205. 

Economic value of, 159-168. 

Evolution of, 169-175. 

Feeding of, 225-226, 232-238. 

First representation of, 65. 

Grooming, 42, 43, 230. 

Importation of, to America, 162, 
180-182, 191, 285. 

Measurements of, 200. 

Natural history of, 169-178. 

Points of perfection in, 195-210. 

Prehistoric, 169-175. 

Proper proportions of, 203. 

Selection of, 195-208. 

Shoeing, 251-258. 

Stomachs of, 225-226. 

Value of, in figures, 167. 
" Horses, Saddles, and Bridles," Car- 
ter's, 67. 
Horse shows, influence of, on riding, 

73, 78- 
Howletts, the, 310. 
Hungary, horse statistics of, 163. 
Hunter, the, "an accident," il. 
Hurdle-racing, 142-143. 
Hurdles for saddle-horse jumping, 

138-140. 



Index 



435 



Iceland ponies, lo. 

In-and-in breeding, 8. 

India, horse statistics of, 163. 

Indians, horsemanship of, 80. 

" In hand," collection of horse, 106. 

Definition of, 91-92, 
Insanity, viciousness is, 20-21. 
Interference, shoes in cases of, 257. 
Iodoform as an antiseptic, 249. 
Ireland, horses in, 163, 
Irregular teeth, remedy for, 243, 272. 
Italy, riders in, 75. 

Roads in, 193, 

Statistics of horses in, 163. 

James I., Markham Arabian bought 

by, 184. 
Jamestown, horses landed at, 181. 
Japan, number of horses in, 163. 
Jardin d'' Acclimation, horses in, 1 69— 

170. 
Jay- Eye-See, side check used on, 297. 

Trotting record of, 290. 
Jockey seat, the, 67-68. 
John Bull, 191. 

Johnster, Henri Franconi's, lOO. 
Jumping, height suitable for practice 
in, 144. 

Lessons in, 138-146. 

Raising the horse in, 141-142. 
Justina, 284. 

Kane, Delancey, coach nm by, 355. 
Keene, Foxhall, 78. 
Kentucky, Denmark's career in, 15- 
16, 47. 
Endurance of horses of, 18. 
Riders of, 78-79. 
Saddle-horses from, 15. 
Saddle-horse stock farms of, 47- 
53. 



Kicking, crupper a partial preventive 
of, 274, 305-306. 
On the jump, 143-144. 
Punishment of, in driving four, 
362. 
Kicking-strap, 274-275, 293, 410. 
Kimball Jackson check, the, 297. 
Kindness, misplaced, in treating 

horses, 149. 
Knee, of ideal horse, 200. 
Broken, 245. 

La Broue, M., riding authority, 75. 
Lady Suffolk, trotting record, 290. 
Lake, Miss Emma, 100, 
Lameness, cases of, 246-247. 

From bad shoeing, 255. 
Laminitis, 245-246. 
La Plata, horses found by Cabot in, 

180. 
Laxatives for horses, 234, 240, 247. 
Leather, for harness, 262-263. 

Chains vs., in pole-pieces, 335-- 
336, 358. 
Legs of ideal horse, 200-201. 
"Leg up," a, 61. 

Lexington, Colonel Woodford's, 52. 
Lexington, Ky., as a saddle-horse 

centre, 47-53- 
Lighting of stables, 39, 211, 215-216. 
Linseed, use of, in feeding, 234, 237. 
Linseed oil, use of, 241, 247. 
Linseed tea, 241. 
Lips of perfect horse, 197. 
Living-rooms of coachman and 
stablemen, 216, 223-224. 
Llama, use of, in early Peru, 1 79. 
" London Season, The," Barrand's, 

413- 
Longe, use of the, 23-27, 10 1. 
Lope, the, 128. 



436 



Index 



Lou Dillon, 286, 287, 289. 
Check not used on, 297. 
Pedigree of, 291. 
Trotting record of, 290. 

McCandless, G. F., tandem of, 409- 

410. 
Maize, nutritive value of, 237, 
Mambrino, 285. 
Mambrino Gift, 190. 
Mambrino King, 288. 
Mansfield, Burton, tandem authority, 

425. 
"Manual of Coaching," Rogers's, 

279. 343-344- 
Mares, feeding of (brood), 17-18. 

Selection of, for breeding, lo-li, 
190. 
Markham Arabian, the, 7, 184. 
Martingale, the, 272. 

In tandem-driving, 396. 
Massachusetts, first horses in, 181. 
Matilda, General Castleman's, 49. 
Maud S., 290. 
Messenger (imported), 190-191. 

Pedigree of, 285. 
" Modern Horsemanship," Ander- 
son's, 30, 129. 
Molasses, black, for horses, 233, 234. 

Use of, as food, 236-237, 
Montgomery Chief, 52, 53. 
Morgan, General John, 41. 
Morgan strain, the, 13-14. 
Motto, 50. 

Mounting, method of, 60-61. 
Mustang, the, 9, 10, 80. 
Mytton, Jack, reminiscences of, 413. 

Nail in foot, treatment, 245. 
Nail, Colonel, 16. 
Nancy Hanks, 290. 



Neck, guiding saddle-horse with 
reins against, 122-124. 
Set of head on the, 197-198. 
Newcastle, Duke of, work on horse- 
manship by, 155, 268. 
Newsome, James, 72. 
New York, horses imported to, 181. 
New York State, highways in, 193. 

Wagon tires in, 194. 
New York Tandem Club, carts used 

by, 404. 
Nose-band, the, 267. 

Leading horses by, 316, 334. 

Oatmeal and ale, in sickness, 241. 
Oats as food, 40, 233, 237, 240. 
"Old Coachman's Chatter, An," 

Corbett's, 322. 
Ontario, riding-horses from, 15. 
Origins of the horse, 4-7, 169-170, 

179-180. 
OrlofF, production of the, 9. 
Overdraw checks. See Check-reins. 
Overreaching, remedy for, 257-258. 
Ox, brain of, 161 n. 
Oxen, use of, as cavalry, 179. 

Pair, harnessing a, 333-334- 

Importance of coupling-reins in 
driving, 340-342. 

Length of reins in driving, 337. 

Lessons in driving, 351-352. 

Starting, 338-339- 

Stopping, 339. 

Unharnessing, 317. 
Palo Alto, 190-191. 
Parthenon frieze, horses in, 7, 64. 
Passing other vehicles in driving — 

Four-in-hand, 376. 

One horse, 331. 

Tandem, 399. 



Index 



437 



Pasterns, 200-201, 202, 204. 
Peas as food, 233, 237. 
Pelham, trotting record of, 290. 
Percheron, production of the, 9. 
Pig, brain of, 161 n. 
Pigskin for whips, 276. 
Pirouette, performance of, 123. 
Pirouette wheel, the, 132-133. 
Pisgah stud, 50-51. 
Placing of feet, effect of, on action, 

18-19. 
Plan of stable, 219-222. 
Pluvinel, Antoine de, 75, 155. 
Pole, adjustment of, in harnessing 

pair, 334-335- 
Pole-chains, appropriate use of, 335- 

336, 358- 
Poling up, four, 366. 

Pair, 334-335- 
Polo ponies, measurements of, 199. 
Ponies, cayuse, 9, 80. 

Cherokee, 86. 

Iceland, 10. 

Norwegian Fiord, 7, 10. 

Polo, 199, 207. 

Shetland, 10, 85, 86. 

Tandem, 394. 
Pony tandem, 394. 
Potatoes, boiled, for horses, 234. 
"Private Stable, The," Garland's, 

279. 
Profile of ideal horse, 196. 
Proportions of well-bred horse, 203- 

204. 
Pulling, treatment of, 269-271. 
Pulse in health and disease, 239. 
Purchase of horses, 30-38, 176-178. 
Purgatives, 234, 240, 247. 

Quarters of stablemen, 223-224. 
Quincy, Josiah, cited, 186, 187. 



Raabe, M., 75. 

Racing, evolution of, 188-191. 
Rack, the, 15, 17. 
Railey, Charles, as rider, 79. 
"Random" driving, 424-425. 
Rarey system of casting, 22-23, '52. 
Rarus, 290. 
Rearing, 99-101. 
Registry of saddle-horses, 16-17. 
Regulus, 285. 

Reins, adjustment of, in driving 
pair, 340-344. 
Lengthening, in driving pair, 

338, 348-351- 
Method of holding, for — 
Four-in-hand, 370-377. 
One horse, 321-326. 
Pair, 337-338, 348-352- 
Tandem, 397-399. 420, 423- 
Reins, question of buckling, 260-261. 
Shortening, in driving, 329-331, 

338, 348-351- 

Size of, 266. 

Tail over the, 303-304. 
Ribs of ideal horse, 199. 
Rice, nutritive value of, 237, 
Riding astride for women, 87. 
Riding-horses. See Saddle-horses. 
Roads, consideration of, 192-194. 
Rogers, Fairman, " Manual of Coach- 
ing " by, 279. 

Quoted on adjustment of reins in 
driving pair, 343-344- 
" Rolling itp" a horse, loi. 
Rome, riding-school in, 75. 
Runaways, causes of, 311-312. 
Russia, number of horses in, 163. 
Rutherford, Captain, U.S.A., 82, 

Saddle, choice of, 54-56. 
Saddle-galls, cause of, 55. 



438 



Index 



Saddle-horses — 

Breeding of, 3-19. 

Care of, 38-46. 

Cost of, 37-38. 

Ideal, described, 35-37. 

Kentucky, 47-53- 

Purchase of, 30-38. 

Sale of, 46. 

Size of, 152. 

Training, 23-29, 90-108, 112 ff. 
Saddletree, introduction of, by Ro- 
mans, 65. 

Selection of, 54, 55. 
Saddling riding-horses, 60. 
St. Julien, trotting record, 290. 
Sale of horses, 46. 
Sally Miller, trotting record, 290. 
Salt for horses, 40-41, 236. 
Saltram, 8, 16, 191. 
Salutin ];, four-in-hand, 353, 364-365. 
School of Application, Fort Riley, 

81-84. 
School-gallop, the, 128. 
Scouring, 247. 

Scratches ("cracked heels"), 243. 
Sculpture, the horse in, 6-7, 64-66. 
Seat, acquirement of, in riding, 64, 
68-70. 

Coachman's, 302, 326. 

Jockey, 67-68. 

Military, 67. 

Tandem, 399, 412. 
Seclusion, production of types and 

families by, 9-10. 
Shetland ponies, lo, 85, 86. 
Shoe boils, 244-245. 
Shoeing of horses, 45-46, 251-258. 

Change of gait by, 288. 
Shoes, weight of, 254. 
Shoulders of ideal horse, 198-199, 
202. 



Short, Captain W. C, U.S.A., 82. 

Shutters of stables, 215. 

Shying, 97-98. 

Sickness, remedies for, 239-250. 

Signals, driver's, to horse, 318-319. 

Silvana, 22. 

Sir Archy, 8. 

Sir Harry, 191. 

Size of saddle-horses, 152. 

Skull of horse, 175-176. 

Smedley, " Frank Fairleigh " by, 41 & 

Snaffle-bit, the, 56. 

Snaffle-bridle, for colts, 25. 

Use of, by beginners, 90. 
Sollisel, M., 75. 
Spain, union of horses of America 

with those of, 180-181. 
Splints, remedy for, 244. 
Sprains, treatment of, 244. 
Spread Eagle, 191. 
Spur, use of the, 89, 109-111, 149. 
Stable, the, 38-40, 21 1-224. 

Drainage of, 39, 211, 215, 217, 
220. 

Management of, 226-232. 

Plan of, 219-222. 

Size of, 212. 

Temperature in, 39, 218, 223. 

Ventilation of, 39, 211, 212-213. 
Stable book, the, 228-229. 
Stablemen, quarters for, 223-224. 

Proportion of, to number of 
horses, 225. 

Selection of, 213-214. 
Stage-coach history, 191-192. 
Stall-courage, 148. 
Stallions, selection of, for breeding, 

lo-li, 39. 
Stalls, 39, 215, 216. 
Standing, training horses in, 296, 298. 
Starling, 285. 



Index 



439 



Starting, in driving — 

Four-in-hand, 370, 372. 

One horse, 318-320. 

Pair, 338. 

Tandem, 421. 
Stature desirable in saddle-horses, 35. 
Stillman, Dr., 129. 
Stimulants in sickness, 241, 247. 
Stirling Chief, 52. 
Stirrups, 55. 

Dismounting with, 61, 

Dismounting without, 63. 

Mounting with, 60. 

Origins of, 65. 

Seat with, 66-67, 
Stock farms, Kentucky saddle-horse, 

47-53- 
Stockwell, 12. 
Stomach of horse, 225-226. 

Treatment for acidity of, 248. 
Stopping in driving — 

Four-in-hand, 379-380. 

One horse, 320-321, 327-328. 

Pair, 339-340. 
Strain of tendons, 246. 
Stumbling in saddle-horses, 18, 154. 
Sultana, 8. 

Sunfishers, rearing horses called, lOO. 
Sunol, trotting record, 290. 
Sunstroke, treatment of, 248. 
Suppling, 25-26, 1 12-120. 

Defined, 104. 

Rearing cured by, 100, 152. 
Sureness of foot, 18. 
Syria early home of horse, 6. 

Tables giving — 

Doses for horses according to 
age, 250. 
■ Numbers of horses in principal 
countries of world, 163. 



Tables {^continued'] — 

Nutritive value of certain articles 
of diet, 237. 

Trotting records since 1806, 290. 

Weights and measures, 238, 250. 
Taffolet Barb, 285. 
Tail, defects regarding, 204. 

Docking of, 304-305. 

Over reins, 303-304. 

Well-bred horse's, 202, 
Tailer, T. Suffern, tandem authority, 
392. 

Chapter by, 401-425. 
Tandem, carts employed when driv- 
ing, 399-400, 404-408. 

Derivation of name, 392. 

Handling reins in, 398-399, 423. 

Harness, 393-394. 408-411- 

Horses, 394, 402-404. 

Lessons, 423-424. 

Origin of the, 395. 

Pony, 394. 

Seat, 400, 412-414. 

Whip, 396, 414-417- 
Tattersall, Edmund, 30. 
Taubenheim, Count, 72. 
Teeth, horses', 173-175. 

Age for appearance of various, 
205-206. 

Effect of food on, 206. 

Irregular, 272. 

Remedy for, 243. 
Temperature, horse's, in health and 
disease, 240. 

Of stables, 39, 2 18,* 223. 
Tendons, strain of, 246. 
The Abbot, trotting record, 290. 
Thong of whip, management of, in 
driving — 

Four-in-hand, 360-364. 

Tandem, 414-417. 



440 



Index 



Thoroughbred, first, in America, 191. 
Thoroughbreds, breeding of, 7-8, 
9-10. 
As riding-horses, 3-4. 
Production of, unexplained, 7. 
Throat-latch, the, 267. 
Tires, wide vs. narrow, 194. 
Toes of prehistoric horse, 170-173. 
Tonics for horses, 247-248. 
Top-coats for driving (driving capes), 

419-420. 
Trace, the, 265-266. 
Traces, fastening outside, first, in 
putting to pair, 334. 
Lapping of, 367. 
Methods of fastening, in putting 

to four, 367. 
Tandem, 393, 395, 410-41 1. 
Training, colts, 20-29, 291-299. 
Effect of, on horses, 103-106. 
Road-horse, 291-296. 
Saddle-horse, in — 
Backing, I35-I37- 
Gallop and gallop changes, 

127-134. 
Hind-quarter movements, 

1 1 7-1 19. 
Jumping, 138-146. 
Movements on two paths, 

125-126, 132. 
Obeying spur, 109-111. 
Tandem leader, 396-397. 
To stand, 296, 298. 
Trakhene horses, 9, 14. 
" Trandom " driving, 424-425. 
Tricks, riding-horses', 97-98. 
Troopers. See Cavalry. 
Trot, studies in riding at the, 95-97, 

107. 
Trotting, evolution of, 1 88-1 91. 
Records of American, 290. 



Trotting-horse, the American, 284- 

291. 
Trouble, trotting record of, 290. 
" Tucked up," meaning of, 200. 
Tug, the, 265. 
Tug girth, the, 316. 
Turf, 285. 

Turk, Duke of Newcastle's, 285. 
Turning corners, 313, 328-329, 331, 

375. 397- 
Tusk, tooth called the, 205-206. 
Two paths, movements on, 125-126, 

132. 

Underbill, Francis T., " Driving for 

Pleasure," by, 279, 352. 
Unharnessing, process of, 316-317. 
United States, number of horses in, 
163. 
Roads in, 183, 192-193, 194. 
See America. 

Vaca, Cabeza de, horses imported 

by, 181. 
Vaulting into saddle, 61-62. 
Venison, 12. 
Ventilation of stables, 39, 211, 212- 

213. 
Vera Cruz, arrival of Cortes' horses 

at, 180. 
Vices, cure of, 21-23, 151-152. 
Viciousness, called insanity, 20-21. 
Village Farm, Hamlins', 288. 
Vinegar-and-water lotion, 247. 
Virginia, horses in early, 181, 191. 

Wagons, tires and axles of, 193-194. 
Walk, studies in riding at the, 91-95. 
Warming of collars, 333. 
Water, advice for riding at, 143. 
Amount of, for horses, 235. 



Index 



441 



Watering of horses in stables, 41, 

222, 235. 
Time of, 235-236. 
Waxy, 12. 
Weights and measures, tables of, 

238, 250. 
Wheel in gallop, production of, 132- 

m- 

Whiffletrees used in tandem, 411. 
Whip, four-in-hand, 359-364. 

Holding the, 338. 

Mountings of, 416-417. 

Place for, before starting four 
horses, 368. 

Position of, when applying brake, 

307- 
Riding, 56. 

Saluting with, 364-365. 
Tandem, 396, 414-417. 
Use of, in driving, 149, 275-276, 

313. 318, zz^-sz^- 

Whip stocks, 417. 

Whip thongs, management of, 360- 

364, 414-417- 
Whitechapel carts, 404-405. 
White Turk, Place's, 285. 
Williams, Lieutenant George, 83. 
Windows of stables, 39, 213, 215. 



Windpipe of ideal horse, 196. 
Winkers, the, 266-267, 272, 297. 
Winthrop, Governor, allusions to 

horses by, 181, 182. 
Women, riding astride by, 87. 

When taking obstacles, 145. 
Woodford, Colonel John T., breed- 
ing farm of, 51-52. 
Works mentioned, on — 

Carriages, 279. 

Coaching, 279, 344. 

Driving, 279, 322, 343-344. 352- 

Harness (bits), 268. 

Physiology of horse, 171. 

Riding, 67, 127, 129, 155. 

Stables, 279. 

Tandem-driving, 394, 418-419, 
422-423. 
Worms, treatment for, 242-243. 
Wounds, treatment of, 243-244. 

Xenophon, " Art of Horsemanship " 
by, 64, 155. 
Quoted, 203, 267-268. 

Yankee, trotting record of, 290. 
Yew, use of, in whips, 417. 
"Youatt on the Horse," 171. 



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